Patrick Moynihan
Type of Fellow: Research Fellow
Description: Deacon Patrick Moynihan serves as the President of The Haitian Project (THP) and its tuitionfree Catholic boarding school in Haiti, Louverture Cleary School (LCS), a post he held from 1996 to 2006 and returned to in March 2009 after serving as President Emeritus in the interim. He has a degree in Classics from Brown University and an MA in Theology from Providence College. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in October of 2001.
Before The Haitian Project, Deacon Moynihan was a futures and options trader for Louis Dreyfus Corp. Unlike St. Francis, the saint who inspired his conversion and entry into missionary work, Deacon Moynihan’s family has supported his efforts since day one. His older brother, Brian Moynihan (CEO of Bank of America), was Chair of The Haitian Project prior to him joining in 1996. It was Brian who brought THP to his attention. Other siblings have provided everything from architecture support to cars to drive from parish to parish.
Under Deacon Moynihan’s leadership, The Haitian Project has become a national non-profit with volunteer activity and support from seven dioceses and Louverture Cleary has grown from 65 students to 350, while maintaining a pass rate for the Baccalaureate (national exam for high school graduates) in excess of 98%. In addition, The Haitian Project has created a very successful scholarship and job placement program to assist LCS students upon their graduation.
Deacon Moynihan has participated on a panel for the USCCB secretariat on Social Ministry dealing with Haiti/Cuba, written a testimony on behalf of the Haitian community for a hearing of the United States Congress, facilitated the translation of Episcopal Conference of Haiti documents for publication in the United States, and has lectured to Legatus and other groups on Catholic Social Teaching focusing on the past 100 years of development in Catholic Social Doctrine from Rerum novarum to Centisimus annus..
In addition to his work with THP, he is a Deacon for the Rockford Catholic Diocese (IL) where he served as the Formation Director from 2001 to 2006 and Director for the Office of the Permanent Diaconate from 7/2006 to 6/2007. Deacon Moynihan and his wife Christina, along with their four children, Robert (17), Mikhaila (15), Timothy (13), and Marianna (10), returned to Haiti in the summer of 2009 and, since the earthquake, have decided to stay "ad infinitum".