When he retired from active priestly ministry in June 2019, Father Thomas P. Donohoe, then pastor of St. Irene Parish, Carlisle, was the oldest active pastor in the U.S.

The Lowell native died at Regina Cleri, Boston, on July 18, 2024. Born on April 9, 1927, he was the son of the late Patrick and Mary (Duffey) Donohoe. He had two sisters, Virginia Oulette of Hingham and the late Lillian Beakey.

He attended local public schools in his native Lowell and, following graduation from Lowell High School in 1942, entered the archdiocesan seminaries at Brighton for both college and theology studies. In his last year of theology, he was appointed a deacon prefect at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Connecticut. He came back to Boston for his ordination at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Jan 10, 1952, by Archbishop Richard Cushing. He was the last surviving member of that ordination class. He returned to Hartford for the next 18 months, serving there until June 30, 1953. He then returned to Boston and, since that time, served in eight archdiocesan parishes.

He was either an assistant or an associate at five parishes: Blessed Sacrament, Cambridge (1953-1955); Sacred Heart, Medford (1955-1960); Most Precious Blood, Hyde Park (1960-1969); Our Lady of Grace, Chelsea (1969-1970); and Immaculate Conception, Malden (1970-1974).

Father Donohoe served as pastor in three parishes: St. Michael, Hudson (1974-1981) and St. Lawrence, Brookline (1981-1988), both of which were appointed by Humberto Cardinal Medeiros.

On Aug. 16, 1988, Bernard Cardinal Law named him pastor of St. Irene Parish, Carlisle, moving him closer to his Lowell roots. The parish had begun to experience noticeable growth, and Father Donohoe saw that a larger church would be needed. Parishioners agreed, and a successful capital campaign raised the funds needed for the beginning and completion of the new church, which Cardinal Law dedicated on Dec. 14, 1997.

At the time of the dedication, Father Donohoe offered a wish for the parish's new home: "Today, we leave our little church to dedicate this beautiful new church ... a visible sign of the growth and vitality of our parish community. May it be for all of us a place of prayer and meditation -- a place of worship. May this church enrich our lives this day and every day."

He remained pastor there for the next 22 years and resolved to build the parish as he had the church.

He retired from that pastorate on June 1, 2019, and initially lived in his family home in Lowell before moving to Regina Cleri.

Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley was the principal celebrant of Father Donohoe's funeral at St. Irene Church in Carlisle on July 23, 2024. Father Romain Rurangirwa, currently in residence at St. Matthew in Billerica, who had for many years previously been in residence with Father Donohoe in Carlisle, was the homilist.

Following the funeral Mass, Father Donohoe was buried in St. Patrick Cemetery, Lowell.