Funeral services for Father Eugene T. Keenan
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated for Father Eugene T. Keenan, 72, retired priest of the Diocese of Trenton, Nov. 15 at 10:30 a.m. in the chapel in Morris Hall/St. Lawrence, 2381 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, NJ. Burial will be private. Father Keenan died Nov. 2.
Born Feb. 28, 1942 in Darby, Pa., Father Keenan graduated from St. Mary College, St. Mary, Ky., before studying for the priesthood in St. Maur Seminary, Indianapolis, Ind. While studying there, he taught in Brebeuf Preparatory School in Indianapolis, and gave a series of morning and evening reflections on NBC-affiliate station WFBM-TV during his transitional diaconate.
Father Keenan was ordained on May 29, 1971, by Bishop George W. Ahr in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. He then served in St. Raphael Parish, Hamilton, until 1975. From 1972 until 1977 he was also associate director of the diocesan Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
Following assignments as associate pastor in Christ the King Parish, Manville, and St. James Parish, Red Bank, Father Keenan became a U.S. Navy chaplain in 1977. During nearly 18 years of military duty, Father Keenan served 13 tours - four tours with the U.S. Marine Corps, and nine with the U.S. Navy. His duty included, among other assignments, the Seventh Fleet Staff, Yokosuka, Japan; Sixth Fleet Staff, Gaeta, Italy; two tours on board submarines and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. His Marine Corps duty included two tours in Japan and one in Hawaii.
While serving on board the USS KISKA in 1982, Father Keenan was part of a team that rescued 83 Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea who had been at sea for seven days. After their rescue, Father Keenan celebrated Mass for 52 Catholic refugees, which for some was the first Mass they had been able to attend in five years.
Father Keenan returned to the Diocese in Dec. 1995, and was assigned to St. Paul Parish, Princeton. In Sept. 1996 he was granted medical leave, and took up residence in St. Bonaventure Parish, Lavallette. He retired from priestly ministry and lived in Manchester until the time of his passing.
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A funeral Mass will be celebrated for Father Eugene T. Keenan, 72, retired priest of the Diocese of Trenton, Nov. 15 at 10:30 a.m. in the chapel in Morris Hall/St. Lawrence, 2381 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, NJ. Burial will be private. Father Keenan died Nov. 2.
Born Feb. 28, 1942 in Darby, Pa., Father Keenan graduated from St. Mary College, St. Mary, Ky., before studying for the priesthood in St. Maur Seminary, Indianapolis, Ind. While studying there, he taught in Brebeuf Preparatory School in Indianapolis, and gave a series of morning and evening reflections on NBC-affiliate station WFBM-TV during his transitional diaconate.
Father Keenan was ordained on May 29, 1971, by Bishop George W. Ahr in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. He then served in St. Raphael Parish, Hamilton, until 1975. From 1972 until 1977 he was also associate director of the diocesan Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
Following assignments as associate pastor in Christ the King Parish, Manville, and St. James Parish, Red Bank, Father Keenan became a U.S. Navy chaplain in 1977. During nearly 18 years of military duty, Father Keenan served 13 tours - four tours with the U.S. Marine Corps, and nine with the U.S. Navy. His duty included, among other assignments, the Seventh Fleet Staff, Yokosuka, Japan; Sixth Fleet Staff, Gaeta, Italy; two tours on board submarines and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. His Marine Corps duty included two tours in Japan and one in Hawaii.
While serving on board the USS KISKA in 1982, Father Keenan was part of a team that rescued 83 Vietnamese refugees in the South China Sea who had been at sea for seven days. After their rescue, Father Keenan celebrated Mass for 52 Catholic refugees, which for some was the first Mass they had been able to attend in five years.
Father Keenan returned to the Diocese in Dec. 1995, and was assigned to St. Paul Parish, Princeton. In Sept. 1996 he was granted medical leave, and took up residence in St. Bonaventure Parish, Lavallette. He retired from priestly ministry and lived in Manchester until the time of his passing.
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