J. Kevin Boland

John Kevin Boland was born in Monkstown, County Cork, Ireland in 1935 to John Joseph and Gertrude O’Brien. His brother, Raymond James Boland, was bishop of the diocese of Kansas City-Saint Joseph in Missouri.[1] John Boland attended Christian Brothers College in Cork and All Hallows Seminary in Dublin.[1]

On June 14, 1959, Boland was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Savannah by Archbishop John Charles McQuaid of Dublin.[1] In September 1959, Boland arrived in Georgia to assume the position of assistant pastor at St. Mary on the Hill Parish in Augusta, Georgia. In 1961, he was posted as associate pastor at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Parish in Savannah until 1962. Boland also attended the Catholic University of America part-time for his master's degree between 1962 and 1964.[2]

In 1967, Boland was appointed pastor of St. Michael Parish in Tybee Island, Georgia, staying there until 1968. In 1970, he returned to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist as rector. In 1972, Boland moved to Blessed Sacrament Parish in Savannah. In 1974, Boland attended the Pontifical North American College in Rome in its Continuing Education program.[1]

In 1983, Boland became pastor of St. Anne Parish in Columbus, Georgia. While there, he attended summer programs for three years at Fordham University to obtain his master's degree in 1989.[1]

On February 7, 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed Boland Bishop of Savannah. His episcopal consecration took place on April 18, 1995, at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.[1]

Boland was a member of the Pastoral Practices Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops USCCB). He served on the board of the Southeast Pastoral Institute. He was Region IV representative to the USCCB Administrative Committee and a member of the USCCB Communications Committee. In November 2001 he was named chairman of the Committee on Marriage and Family Life.[1]

In November 2002, Boland became a member of the USCCB Budget and Finance Committee. Boland is currently a board member of the All Hallows Missionary College Fund and a Trustee for Catholic Mutual Group.

In 2003, Boland wrote a letter to the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus, expressing concerns about Donald J. McGuire, a Jesuit priest known for running youth retreats. Boland was forwarding the complaints of a Georgia couple whose son had attended the retreats. The boy had told his parents that McGuire has shown him pornography and shared his bed, among other items. A few years later, McGuire was convicted of child sexual abuse and sentenced to 25 years in prison.[3]

On November 4, 2009, the Diocese agreed to a $4.24 million lawsuit settlement with Allan Ranta, a victim of sexual abuse by Wayland Y. Brown, a diocese priest. Boland released this statement:

I am sorry for all the pain and suffering experienced by Mr. Ranta and my prayers go out not only to him, but to all victims of child sexual abuse that each may find the healing they seek.[4]