Rev. Henry Rancourt, s.m.

Summary of Case: Rancourt was accused anonymously in 1992 of molesting Haitian boys at a parish school. There is scant information available regarding Rancourt. A 2006 church bulletin states "Fr. Rancourt has 23 years in education, 6 as a foster parent, 11 in Haitian ministry and 8 in preaching missions." (St. Barbara's,Woburn, MA March 12, 2006) As of 2009 he was known to be 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)

1958       Rancourt is not indexed in the 1958 Directory. His ordination year is per the 1988 Directory.

1958

 

 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. (archdiocesan document).

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. (2003-)

2009 The Marist Retreat House Framingham Centre MA    

2005

Worcester bishop was Robert Joseph McManus (2004-)

  St. Joseph-Notre Dame Worcester MA  

A 2005 church bulletin states that during a Sept. 19-22 mission, "Homilies offered daily by Rev. Henry Rancourt, sm." (Holy Name of Jesus Parish Bulletin 9-11-2005)

A 2010 google search shows that these parishes merged at some point to become Holy Family.

  2012 Our Lady of Lourdes Center Boston MA   Per the archdiocesan website March 2012.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1959-2009 )

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 Rancourt'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 March 27, 2012