UNITED STATES
BishopAccountability.org
Summary of Case: Robert Benish entered the Jesuits as a postulant at the Oregon Province’s Novitiate in Sheridan, Oregon in 1941. He made his perpetual vows as a Jesuit Brother in 1944. Benish remained in Sheridan until his transfer to St. Mary’s Mission in Alaska in 1946. He spent his entire career thereafter at St. Mary’s. His roles were as boys’ prefect, baker, postmaster, gardner and ham radio operator. As prefect, Benish spent nearly 24-hours per day with the boys, including sleeping in their dormitory. Benish retired to a Jesuit residence at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington in 1989, and died in April 1991. Benish’ s name was included on a list in the Fairbanks diocese’s 2010 bankruptcy documents of ‘Individuals against whom a complaint of abuse has been asserted by more than one person’.
Vows: Jan. 1, 1944
Died: April 24, 1991
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.