Rev. Terence Keegan, O.P., S.T.M.

Rev. Terence Stephen Keegan, O.P., S.T.M., 85, died on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at Mount St. Rita Health Centre in Cumberland, RI, following a period of declining health. He was a member of the Order of Preachers (Dominican Friars) of the Province of St. Joseph and of the Dominican Community at Providence College.

Born on Jan. 26, 1939, in Lee, MA, Terence James Keegan was the son of Edward J. Keegan, Sr., and Gertrude (Farrell) Keegan. He graduated from Needham (MA) High School in 1956. In 1960, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Providence College and, a year later, a master’s degree in mathematics from Brown University in Providence.

In 1961, he entered the novitiate of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, OH, receiving the religious name Stephen. He made his simple profession of vows there on Aug. 16, 1962. He then spent three years studying at St. Stephen Priory in Dover, MA, receiving a master’s degree in philosophy. He made his solemn profession of vows on Aug. 16, 1965. He was then assigned to the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, for his theological studies. On Jun. 13, 1968, he was ordained a priest at St. Dominic Church in Washington by the Most Rev. Ernest B. Boland, O.P., D.D., at the time bishop of Multan, Pakistan.

He then spent another year at the Dominican House of Studies, where, over four years, he earned his bachelor’s, licentiate, and lectorate degrees in sacred theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception. He would later earn a licentiate degree in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and a doctoral degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (Angelicum), also in Rome. He also earned a diploma from the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem.

From 1969 until 1973, Father Keegan was assigned to St. Stephen Priory, in Dover, MA, while he pursued his advanced studies. From 1973 until 1975, he taught sacred scripture and theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, and was a part-time faculty member at Mount St. Mary’s College and Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD.

In 1975, Father Keegan joined the theology faculty at Providence College, where he would serve for forty years, achieving the rank of full professor in 1994. From 1977 until 1995, he also served as a part-time member of PC’s mathematics and computer science departments. Among his many other positions at PC were chaplain (1975-1977); residence hall head resident (1977-1982); assistant chaplain (1977-1984); co-director of the graduate program in theology (1986-1992); dean of graduate studies (1994-1995); executive vice president (1994-2005); and treasurer (1999-2005). He also served on the PC Board of Trustees and the President’s Council from 1994 until 2005.

Among his other PC affiliations, Father Keegan was a member of the Spiked Shoe Club, the Football Club moderator and chaplain, and founder and moderator of the Pastoral Council. Away from PC, he was regent of studies of the Dominican Province of St. Joseph and a member of the provincial council from 1997 until 2002.

He was also a member of several professional, educational, civic, and religious organizations, including the Catholic Biblical Association; Catholic Theological Society of America; Society of Biblical Literature; New England Orienteering Club; Provincial Intellectual Life Commission; Board of Trustees and Board of Overseers of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception; and Provincial Joint Formation Council.

Father Keegan authored and edited many books including A Commentary on the Gospel of Mark (1981, 2005), First Timothy and Second Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (2006), and Interpreting the Bible: A Popular Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics (1985, 2005). He also wrote numerous articles, book chapters, book reviews, and film and audio cassette scripts.

His awards and commendations include a Brown University Mathematics Fellowship in 1960-1961, the Providence College Alumni Association Father Aloysius J. Begley Award for outstanding faculty service in 1995, and an Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem Knighthood in 1998—he would later be raised to the rank of Knight Commander. In 2013, the Master of the Dominican Order bestowed on him the Order’s highest distinction, that of Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M.).

Father Keegan was a man of profound faith and keen intelligence, along with a touch of mischievousness. Always learning, he relished teaching. He was equally at home with sacred scripture and theology, orienteering, and professional sports teams, especially the National Football League. He was a super-organized administrator and a compassionate priest. He loved the Lord Jesus Christ, the Church, the Dominican Order, Providence College, and his family.

Father Keegan is survived by his siblings Edward J. Keegan, Jr., William J. Keegan, Claire Matthews, James F. Keegan, and Mary Ellen Keyser, and their families, as well as by his Dominican brothers.

His body will be received into the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary in the Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas at Providence College at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 15, 2024. Visitation will follow until 7:00 p.m., when the Office of the Dead will be chanted. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for him in the same chapel at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 16, 2024. He will then be laid to rest in the Dominican Friars Cemetery on the Providence College campus.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Providence College, Dominican Scholarship Fund, Office of Institutional Advancement, One Cunningham Square, Providence, RI 02918.

Arrangements by the Russell J. Boyle & Son Funeral Home, 331 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02908.