Assignment Record– Rev. Charles A. Saalfeld, s.j.

Summary of Case: Charles A. Saalfeld was ordained a priest of the Jesuits' Oregon Province June 13, 1946. He taught high school math, physics, and religion in Tacoma WA, Yakima WA and Fairbanks AK. Toward the end of his career he pastored a parish in Nulato AK. Saalfeld died in March 1978. According to the Fairbanks diocese's bankruptcy reorganization documents in 2010, there has been one claim of sexual abuse against Saalfeld.

Ordained: June 13, 1946
Died: March 5, 1978


   

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State/Country Position Notes

1946

San Francisco archbishop was John Joseph Mitty (1935-1961).

1947 Alma College Alma CA  

1947

Seattle bishop was Gerald Shaughnessy, s.m. (1933-1950).

1948 Bellarmine Preparatory High School Tacoma WA   Bellarmine Prep. had 330 students, all male.
1948 1949 Manresa Hall Port Townsend WA tertianship  

1949

Seattle bishop was Gerald Shaughnessy, s.m. (1933-1950).

The Yakima diocese was established July 9, 1951. Its bishop was Joseph Patrick Dougherty (1951-1969).

1956 Marquette High School Yakima WA   Marquette High had 275-212 students, all male.

1956

Madison bishop was William Patrick O'Connor (1946-1967).

1957 St. Joseph's (Italian) Madison WI 3/3 In residence.

St. Joseph's had a school with 116 students.

Per Alaskana Catholica: A History of the Catholic Church in Alaska, by Louis L. Renner, s.j. Saalfeld was a University of Wisconsin physics student.

1957

Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska/Fairbanks bishop was Francis Doyle Gleeson (1948-1968).

The Fairbanks diocese was established Aug. 8, 1962.

1966 Monroe Catholic High School

Fairbanks

• Saalfeld's name appeared on the Fairbanks diocese's list in 2010 of "admitted, proven, or credibly accused perpetrators of sexual abuse." There is one known claim against Saalfeld.

AK teacher of math, physics, religion Per Renner, in 1960 Saalfeld had a fellowship at the University of Illinois to study higher mathematics. This is not reflected in the Directory.
1966 1973 St. Aloysius Tanana AK 1/1  
1966 1973   Ruby, Galena, Bettles, Hughes, Huslia, Koyukuk, Manley Hot Springs, Rampart AK   These were stations of St. Aloysius in Tanana.

1973

Oakland bishop was Floyd Lawrence Begin (1962-1977).

1974 Jesuit School of Theology Berkeley CA sabbatical  

1974

Fairbanks bishop was Robert Louis Whelan, s.j. (1968-1985).

1978 Our Lady of the Snows Nulato AK 1/1  
1974 1978   Kaltag, Koyukuk AK 1/1

These were missions of Our Lady of the Snows in Nulato.

Saalfeld died March 6, 1978.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1947-1979)

• Twenty Persons Appointed to Faculty of Catholic School, Fairbanks News-Miner, September 16, 1958
• Alaskana Catholica: A History of the Catholic Church in Alaska, by Louis L. Renner, s.j.
• Excerpt from Bankruptcy Reorganization Documents for Fairbanks Diocese, January 25, 2010, p. 2.

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 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Saalfeld's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that 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.

This assignment record was last updated on Sept. 2, 2014.