Donald J. McGuire (1930–2017) was an American Jesuit priest and intellectual who attained a high degree of prominence within the Catholic Church and conservative Catholic circles as a retreat director, educator, and, most notably, for his association with Mother Teresa. His distinguished religious career ended in scandal and conviction for numerous acts of child sexual abuse spanning decades.
Key Biographical Information
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | Donald Joseph McGuire |
| Born | July 9, 1930, Oak Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 13, 2017 (aged 86), in federal prison |
| Religious Order | Society of Jesus (Jesuits) (Joined 1947, Ordained 1961) |
| Final Status | Convicted sex offender; Laicized (defrocked) in 2008 |
| Key Association | Served as a spiritual director for the Missionaries of Charity; was, at one point, Mother Teresa’s confessor. |
Career in Education and Ministry
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Academic Background: McGuire was highly educated, earning multiple master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in Classical Studies from Loyola University Chicago.
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Educator: He taught at several prestigious Jesuit institutions, including Loyola Academy in Chicago and the University of San Francisco (USF).
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Global Retreat Leader: McGuire achieved international recognition by creating and leading spiritual retreats based on Ignatian spirituality for wealthy and devout Catholic families across the U.S. and Europe. This “roving ministry” gave him unsupervised access to young people and families, which he exploited for criminal purposes.
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Association with Mother Teresa: In the 1980s, McGuire became closely associated with the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Teresa. He was appointed their spiritual director and acted as a confessor to Mother Teresa herself. He often used this high-profile association—and letters of support he received from the now-canonized saint—to build trust and circumvent official scrutiny.
Sexual Abuse and Conviction
McGuire’s criminal activities spanned over four decades, during which he was transferred multiple times between assignments despite repeated complaints to his Jesuit superiors in both the U.S. and Europe.
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Modus Operandi: His pattern often involved cultivating relationships with wealthy, prominent Catholic families, offering to mentor or hire their teenage sons as “protégés” or assistants on his international retreats, where the abuse occurred.
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State Conviction (2006): McGuire was convicted in Wisconsin of five felony counts related to the sexual assault of two former Loyola Academy students that occurred in the 1960s.
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Federal Conviction (2009): He was convicted on federal charges of transporting an adolescent boy across state lines for the purpose of sexual abuse, relating to trips to Austria and Switzerland. He was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.
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Died in Prison: Donald J. McGuire was formally laicized (removed from the priesthood) in 2008 and died in federal custody in 2017 while serving his sentence.
McGuire is often cited in the extensive investigations into the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis as a prime example of a perpetrator who was protected by his superiors and whose high standing in the Church allowed him to operate globally for many years despite documented concerns.