Rev. Leon C. Spalding

Summary of Case: Spalding was accused in a 2003 lawsuit of having sexually abused a girl in the early 1970s. He retired in March 2003 after an accusation involving a woman.

Ordained: 1959

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1959

Louisville archbishop was John Alexander Floersh (1924-1967)

1961 St. Gabriel the Archangel Fern Creek KY

2/2

 

 Parish had a school with 566-631 students.
1961 1965 St. Mildred's Somerset KY 2/2 Parish had a school with 85-70 students.
1961 1965   Jamestown KY   This was a mission of St. Mildred's in Somerset.
1961 1965   Albany KY   This was a mission of St. Mildred's in Somerset.
1961 1965   Monticello KY

 

 

 This was a station of St. Mildred's in Somerset.
1965 1967 St. Leo the Great Louisville KY 2/2 Parish had a school with 169-160 students.
1967 1970 St. Aloysius Peewee Valley KY 3/3, 2/3 Parish had a school with 205-176 students.
1967 1970 Central Hospital Anchorage KY   This was a station of St. Aloysius in Peewee Valley.
1970 1971 St. Joseph Infirmary Louisville KY Chaplain  
1971 1972 Holy Name

Louisville

• Accused in a 2003 lawsuit of having molested a girl after confession in the entryway of Holy Name in the early 1970s. (Associated Press State & Local Wire
April 21, 2003)

KY 2/2 Parish had a school with 208 students.
1972 1976 Guardian Angels Louisville KY 2/2 Parish had a school with 202-247 students.

1976

Floersh was succeeded by Thomas Joseph McDonough (1967-1981)

1982 Immaculate Conception LaGrange KY 1/1 Parish had a school with 93-120 students.
1976 1982 St. Matthew's Bedford KY   This was a mission of Immaculate Conception in LaGrange.

1976

Replacing McDonough as archbishop was Thomas Cajetan Kelly, O.P. (1981-2007)

1982 Kentucky State Reformatory

LaGrange KY   This was a station of Immaculate Conception in LaGrange.
1976 1978 Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women Peewee Valley KY   This was a station of Immaculate Conception in LaGrange.
1982 1992 U.S. Army     Chaplain The 1990 Directory indexes Spalding as at Ft. Benjamin Harrison Army Base, and indicates that it is in the Indianapolis archdiocese.
1992 1993 On Special Assignment       No indication found in the Directories as to where Spalding was in 1992-1993.
1993 2003 St. Dominic Springfield KY 1/1 Parish had a school with 253-212 students.
2003 2007 Retired

Clearwater

• Retired in March 2003 after an accusation involving a woman. (Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
April 22, 2003)

FL    

2007

Joseph Edward Kurtz succeeded Kelly
(2007-)

2009 Retired Louisville KY    


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1960-2009)

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 Spalding'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 Feb. 21, 2010