Assignment Record – Rev. John J. Brown, s.j.

Summary of Case: John J. Brown was ordained a Jesuit priest of the Oregon Province in 1948. He spent his career through the late 1960s in Idaho and Montana Indian mission schools and parishes. His whereabouts beyond 1967 are unclear. Brown's name was included on the Oregon Province's bankruptcy reorganization documents list in 2011 of Jesuits "identified as perpetrators of sexual abuse."

Ordained: 1948

     

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1948

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

1949 Alma College Alma CA  

1949

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

1950 Manresa Hall Port Townsend WA Jesuit tertianship  

1950

Boise City bishop was Edward Joseph Kelly (1927-1956), followed by James Joseph Byrne (1956-1962).

1957 Sacred Heart Desmet (Coeur d'Alene Indian Mission) ID 1/2; Superior Sacred Heart had a school with 58-19 boys. Beginning in 1955 there were 49-43 girls.
1950 1957 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Plummer ID   This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.
1950 1957 St. Michael's Worley ID   This was a mission of Sacred Heart in Desmet.

1957

Helena bishop was Joseph Michael Gilmore (1935-1962).

1958 St. Ignatius Mission St. Ignatius MT 4/4  
1957 1958 Sacred Heart Arlee MT   This was a mission of St. Ignatius Mission in St. Ignatius.
1957 1958 St. John Berchman's Jocko MT   This was a mission of St. Ignatius Mission in St. Ignatius.
1957 1958 St. Leonard's Dixon MT   This was a mission of St. Ignatius Mission in St. Ignatius.

1958

Great Falls bishop was William Joseph Condon (1939-1967).

1967 St. Charles Borromeo Mission Pryor MT 1/1

St. Charles Borromeo's had a religious vacation school, as shown in the 1959 and 1960 Directories, with 46 students, and a school beginning in 1959 with 14-24 boys and 15-25 girls.

Brown is indexed in the 1968-1973 Directories as at St. Charles Borromeo, but he is not listed as there in the Great Falls diocesan pages. He is not indexed beyond the 1973 Directory.

 

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1949-1973)

• Plan of Reorganization with links to non-monetary commitments, Jesuits Oregon Province website, accessed Dec. 7, 2012

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 Brown'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. 7, 2014.