Fr. Marcel Alphonse VanBergen
Named publicly as accused in the MI Attorney General’s 12/15/2025 Diocese of Grand Rapids Report. Placed on inactive status in 5/1968. Died in 1983. In 2008 a man told the Diocese that in 1956, when he was in kindergarten, Vanbergen fondled him. He said he told another priest a few years later, who told him to drop it. He said he also told the Diocese. In 2013 another man reported sexual abuse by Vanbergen when he was a 7th- or 8th-grade altar boy in 1955 or 1956 at St. Stephens. He said he told his grandmother, who took him to a priest at St. Mary’s; he was told “stop telling lies” or he would “go to hell.”
Return to main database page. See abbreviations and posting policy. Send corrections.
Our Database of Publicly Accused does not state or imply that individuals facing allegations are guilty of a crime or liable for civil claims. The reports contained in the database are merely allegations. The U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.