2008
The Rev. Joseph F. O'Connell, 66, a Catholic priest who was secretary for secondary education for the U.S. Jesuit Conference,
died of cancer Sept. 25 at Georgetown Medical Center.
Rev. O'Connell, a Jesuit, worked for the order until he became ill. Between 1996 and 2005, he had been president of the Jesuit
Secondary Education Association. Rev. O'Connell was born in Washington and graduated from Gonzaga College High
School. He entered the Jesuit order in 1960 and graduated from Loyola University in Chicago, where he received a master's
degree in English in 1967.
He received a second master's degree in divinity from the old Woodstock College in 1973 and a doctorate in education from
Columbia University Teachers College in 1977. He was ordained in 1973.
Rev. O'Connell taught English at Scranton Preparatory School from 1967 to 1970. After receiving his doctorate, he worked as a
counselor at Management Design in Cincinnati from 1976 to 1985.
He then worked in New York for the Jesuit Secondary Education Association's commission on research and development until
the mid-1990s. He moved back to Washington to work for the JSEA as vice president for a year, until he was named president.
He wrote extensively about Jesuit education and developed several programs to promote spirituality at Jesuit schools.
No immediate family members survive him.