Assignment Record– Rev. Henry Rancourt, S.M.
Summary of Case: A Marist priest ordained in 1957, Rancourt worked in Michigan, Ohio, New York and Massachusetts. Rancourt was accused anonymously in 1992 of molesting Haitian boys at a parish school in Boston. Per a church bulletin in 2006, "Fr. Rancourt has 23 years in education, 6 as a foster parent, 11 in Haitian ministry and 8 in preaching missions." Rancourt's name was included on attorney Mitchell Garabedian's list released in April 2012 of lawsuits settled within the previous year naming clergy accused of child sexual abuse. In 2015 he was still an active priest.
Ordained: 1957
| Start | Stop | Assignment | Town/Accusations | State | Position | Notes |
1957 Detroit archbishop was Edward Aloysius Mooney (1937-1958), followed by John Francis Dearden (1958-1980). |
1974 | Notre Dame High School for Boys | Harper Woods | MI | Rancourt was Principal 1968-1974 | The school had 915-1,065 students. |
1974 Cleveland bishop was James Aloysius Hickey (1974-1980). |
1979 | Chanel High School | Bedford | OH | Principal | The school had 507-415 students, all male. |
1979 Boston archbishop was Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983). |
1982 | Marist Fathers Provincial House/Foster Home | Newton | MA | Rancourt's listing in the Directories includes "Foster Home, 18 Wellington St., Boston." | |
1982 Brooklyn Bishop was Francis John Mugavero (1968-1990). |
1984 | Our Lady of Refuge | Brooklyn | NY | 4/4 | Parish had a school with 485 students. |
| 1984 | 1987 | St. Francis of Assisi-St. Blaise | Brooklyn | NY | 1/4, 1/5 | Parish had a school with 455 students. |
1987 Boston bishop was Bernard Francis law (1984-2002). |
1988 | The Marist Retreat House | Framingham Centre | MA | ||
| 1988 | 1993 | St. Angela's |
Boston (Mattapan) • Accused in an anonymous communication to the archdiocese in 1992 of "kissing and molesting Haitian boys" at the school. |
MA | 2/2 | Parish had a school with 222 students. |
| 1993 | 1994 | Our Lady of Pity, Notre Dame De Pitie (French) | Cambridge | MA | 2/3 | |
1994 Law was replaced by Sean Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. |
2009 | The Marist Retreat House | Framingham Centre | MA | A 2005 bulletin for Worcester parish, St. Joseph-Notre Dame, states that during a Sept. 19-22 mission, "Homilies offered daily by Rev. Henry Rancourt, sm." (Worcester bishop was Robert Joseph McManus (2004-) In March 2006 Rancourt lead the parish mission at St. Barbara's in Woburn, MA. Rancourt is not indexed beyond the 2009 Directory. |
|
| 2015 | Our Lady of Lourdes Center | Boston | MA | Per the archdiocesan website in September 2015, Rancourt was still an active priest and living at this Center in Boston. |
Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1959-2009)
• Documents produced by the Boston Archdiocese: 1992 letter alleging abuse
• Excerpt From, Church Bulletin for Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Church Bulletin, September 11, 2005
• Excerpt from St. Barbara's Parish Sunday Bulletin, Woburn, MA, March 12, 2006
• New Garabedian List, Bishopaccountability.org, April 11, 2012
• Former Marist House Priest is on Sex Abuse List, By Julia Spitz, MetroWest Daily News, April 12, 2012
• Parishes, Schools & People, bostoncatholic.org, accessed September 2015
Priests in a Parish: We use the following
convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means
that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually
the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand
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This assignment record was last updated on September 30, 2015.