Father Patrick O’Shea
Archdiocese of San Francisco
Ordained: 1958
Laicized: 1994
Assignment History:
- 1958-1969: Mission Dolores Basilica (San Francisco, CA)
- 1970-1978: Most Holy Redeemer (San Francisco, CA)
- 1970-1994: Holy Childhood Pontifical Association (San Francisco, CA)
- 1972-1982: Assistant Director for Vocations (San Francisco, CA)
- 1971-1982: San Francisco Society for the Propagation of the Faith (San Francisco, CA)
- 1978-1990: Holy Name of Jesus (San Francisco, CA)
- 1985-1994: San Francisco Society for the Propagation of the Faith (San Francisco, CA)
- 1989-1992: Serra Club of West San Francisco Area (Golden Gate)
- 1990-1994: St. Cecilia (San Francisco, CA)
- 1994-1995: Unknown
- 1995-2003: Absent on leave
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Patrick J. O’Shea:
In 1994, Fr. Patrick O’Shea was arrested and criminally charged with child sexual abuse of at least nine boys taking place between 1964 and 1980. According to media reports, the abuse is said to have taken place in San Francisco, Napa, Placer, and Riverside counties, mostly at O’Shea’s trailer at Lake Berryessa. One man alleged he was abused as a boy on a trip to Rome with O’Shea, where the two met the pope. O’Shea would typically ply the boys with alcohol. Most victims were altar boys, some as young as nine years old when they were abused. Ultimately, the charges were dropped due to the statute of limitation and then refiled in 1998, in which two were finally settled. The Archdiocese of San Francisco permanently stripped him of his faculties in 1994, and O’Shea was laicized.
According to media reports, in 2004, O’Shea pleaded guilty to grand theft and tax fraud for embezzling at least $250,000 in donations from nuns and parishioners. O’Shea was put on probation, ordered to pay restitution, and did not serve jail time. In 2017, a grand jury indicted former Monsignor O’Shea for allegedly abusing another altar boy from 1968 to 1970 on trips to Lake Berryessa.
The Archdiocese of San Francisco has settled multiple cases involving O’Shea including a $4 million settlement reached in 2005 to settle four lawsuits. During a deposition, he admitted to molesting a 14- or 15-year-old boy in the 1960s.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of San Francisco in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of San Francisco now have legal options due to a voluntary compensation fund created by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in California and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.