Fr. Francis “Frank” Michael Sweeney
Ordained: 1961
Assignments:
- 1961-1962: Park Street Paulist Center, Boston, MA (BO)
- 1962-1964: St. Lawrence Church, Minneapolis, MN (STP)
- 1964-1967: St. Paul the Apostle Church, Los Angeles, CA (LA)
- 1967-1971: Trinity Washington University, Washington, D.C. (WDC)
- 1971-1972: Newman Center, Columbus, OH (COL)
- 1972-1976: Johns Hopkins Campus Ministry, Baltimore, MD (BAL)
- 1976-1978: St. Mark’s University Parish UCSB, Isla Vista, CA (LA)
- 1978-1982: St. Paul’s College, Washington, D.C. (WDC)
- 1982-1994: University of Maryland Base Community, Relay, MD (BAL)
- 1984-1996: NY Paulist Fathers Generalate, Scarsdale, NY (NY)
- 1986-1994: St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore, MD (BAL)
- 1996-2003: Paulist Fathers Residence, Boston, MA (BO)
- 2003-2008: Paulist Fathers Generalate, Jamaica Estates, NY (NY)
- 2006-2013: Retired, Paulist Fathers’ Motherhouse, New York, NY (NY)
- 2013: Died
Fr. Francis Sweeney was ordained a Paulist priest. In 1992, he was removed following his admission to the Paulists that he sexually abused two children. The abuse reportedly occurred in the late 1970s to early 1980s at the University Base Community in Relay, Maryland. Fr. Sweeney was publicly named by the Archdiocese of Baltimore in its 2002 list of “Accused Priests of Archdiocese of Baltimore” in the subsection of “Accused Religious Priests and Brothers.” Additionally, the Diocese of Columbus added Fr. Sweeney to its 2019 list of “Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor” in subsection “Extern or Religious Clergy who served in the Diocese of Columbus that were Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors Elsewhere.” In 2019 Fr. Sweeney was included in the “List of Paulist Fathers with Credible Claims of Sexual Abuse of a Minor” in the subsection “Deceased and Former Paulist Fathers with Credible Claims.” Fr. Sweeney resided in a New York apartment of the Paulist order until his death in 2013. His access to children from 2006 until his death is unknown.