CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times [Chicago IL]
October 1, 2025
By Robert Herguth
The Rev. Nelson Daniel Rupp was assigned to St. Augustine seminary for part of the time Robert Prevost was a student. Highlighted in a report about alleged abuse in the Catholic church, Rupp says he taught Prevost — who as Pope Leo XIV now is tasked with dealing with the scourge of child sex abuse by clergy.
The Rev. Nelson Daniel Rupp merited a chapter in the Michigan attorney general’s report on Catholic priests accused of child sexual abuse from the Diocese of Marquette, saying that, among other ugly behavior years ago, Rupp allegedly took boys to a cottage, “supplied them with liquor, and then sexually abused them.”
On a “sleepover” with children, he “was walking around with only a t-shirt on, with his genitals exposed,” the report stated, also noting a housekeeper for Rupp found children’s underwear in his residence, including a pair “heavily soiled.”
When sent to a medical center that assesses troubled priests, Rupp wouldn’t follow the treatment recommendations, the report said, drawing a rebuke from his bishop in the northern part of Michigan.
Rupp was one of 44 accused priests in the 2022 report. And Rupp is one of thousands of Catholic priests across the country accused of abusing kids.
But he appears to hold a distinction among them: He might be the only cleric publicly accused of molesting children, and who’s still living, to have worked at the seminary while the future Pope Leo XIV, then known as Robert Prevost, was a student there.
“I had him in class,” Rupp, now 84, told the Chicago Sun-Times, referring to Prevost’s time at St. Augustine high school seminary near Holland, Michigan, in or around 1973. “He was a teenager.”
“I only taught him for a few months. … I think I was teaching Latin at that time. … He struck me” as “just a delightful, wonderful young man,” Rupp said.
It’s widely known that as an adult, a bishop and a longtime leader in his religious order, the Augustinians, Prevost worked with, and had to deal with the ramifications of, alleged predator priests. Unknown probably to most is that while Prevost was a teen, he had proximity to a cleric who’s since been accused of sexually abusing and grooming children.
It’s unclear whether Rupp was engaged in sexual misconduct at the time and whether and when Prevost knew of any accusations. Neither the pope nor his press office responded to questions. Rupp denied molesting anyone and said he was wrongfully accused. The Augustinians refuse to confirm whether Rupp was one of Prevost’s instructors.
But Rupp’s involvement in teaching at Prevost’s seminary illustrates the pervasiveness of the abuse crisis — not just for the victims whose minds and bodies were preyed on, and not just for the parishioners whose donations have had to shore up subsequent legal settlements. But for well-meaning clerics who perhaps unwittingly studied and ministered with alleged abusers.
Rupp isn’t on any offender lists put out by Catholic dioceses or religious orders.Related
A spokesperson for the Augustinians said there were no known allegations from the time Rupp was an Augustinian.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Marquette, which Rupp later joined while leaving his religious order, said: “Based on the information the diocese has, the allegations are inconclusive as to whether further action would be pursued.” Diocesan officials wouldn’t say whether there were legal settlements over Rupp’s alleged misconduct or how many accusers they’re aware of.
Asked about Rupp, a spokesman for Michigan’s attorney general said: “Our office has not and does not issue declarations as to the credibility of any allegations within the reports.”
The attorney report states that in 2007, the Marquette diocese “received a report of sexual abuse that occurred sometime between 1985 and 1987” and “the sexual abuser was Fr. Rupp, and the alleged abuse occurred” at his cottage “in Alger or Marquette County.”
The “complainant was an altar server at Holy Family Parish.”
Rupp said he’s aware of accusations he molested children but chalked it up to a “misunderstanding” and denied he’s abused anyone.
Eventually, Rupp said, “I gave up on the defense” and decided to retire.
He confirmed he was sent to the St. Luke Institute that deals with troubled clergy, and that he rejected treatment recommendations.
The Marquette diocese spokesperson said of Rupp: “From 1967 to 1980 he was with the Augustinians. However, he served as an Augustinian priest in the Diocese of Marquette from 1973 to 1974. He returned in 1977 for a period of discernment as whether to remain a religious order priest or to become a diocesan priest.”
“This lasted until 1980. In 1980 he was incardinated into the Diocese of Marquette making him a diocesan priest. In 1996 he took a leave of absence and has not been in active ministry since.”
The Official Catholic Directory indicates Rupp was at the St. Augustine seminary in 1973, the year Prevost graduated. Others confirm Rupp taught at the school, which was later closed amid dwindling enrollment.
Rupp said that while still an Augustinian, he also served in the Chicago region — Kenosha, Wisconsin, and on the South Side.