PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Deacon Patrick Moynihan will receive an honorary doctorate in humanitarian service from Providence College in Rhode Island, recognizing his work as president of The Haitian Project.
Deacon Moynihan was ordained for the Diocese of Rockford and served as director of its permanent diaconate program.
He serves as the president of The Haitian Project and its tuition-free Catholic boarding school in Haiti, Louverture Cleary School, a post he held from 1996 to 2006 and returned to in March 2009 after serving as president emeritus in the interim.
Before THP, 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, Moynihan’s family has supported his efforts since day one.
His older brother, Brian Moynihan (CEO of Bank of America), was chair of THP prior to Deacpm Patrick’s joining in 1996. It was Brian who brought THP to Patrick’s attention. Siblings have provided everything from architecture support to cars to drive from parish to parish.
Under Deacon Moynihan’s leadership, THP has become a national non-profit with volunteer activity and support from seven dioceses and LCS 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, THP 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 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (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 (Ill.) 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. For over two years, he has been a weekly columnist for both the Seneca Daily Journal Messenger and Catholic News Agency where he covers a broad range of everyday topics from the sublime to the absurd.
Deacon Moynihan is a nationally-recognized speaker on the subjects of Transformational Development guided by Solidarity and Subsidiarity and the ineffectiveness of the Aid-industry and large International Non-Governmental Organizations. He is also a successful consultant on non-profit organization and strategies.
He and his wife Christina, along with their four children, returned to Haiti in the summer of 2009. In December 2009, the family made the commitment to stay with the mission “ad infinitum”.
Deacon Moynihan received a bachelor’s degree in Classics from Brown University in 1987 where he graduated magna cum laude and a master’s degree in religious studies from PC in 1999. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in October of 2001.