Rev. Theophilus (Theo, Theodore) Clerx, C.I.C.M.—Assignment Record

Ordained: 1957
Died: 12/17/03

     

Start Stop Parish Town
State
 Position Notes
1957 1959 Whereabouts unknown  
  Not indexed in the 1959 Directory.
1959 1964 St. Augusta's San Antonio
TX
 3/3. San Antonio archdiocese. Nuns also ran a Mission Center at the parish.
1961 1966 Santa Maria Goretti San Antonio
TX
 3/3. San Antonio archdiocese. Mission of St. Augusta's and then of St. Jude's.
1964 1966 St. Jude's San Antonio
TX
 3/3. Indexed here in the 1967 Directory but not listed here. San Antonio archdiocese. Same address as St. Augusta's. Appears to be the same parish renamed. Nuns also ran a Mission Center at the parish.
1966 1971 Whereabouts unknown  
  Clerx is not indexed in the 1968-1971 Directories.
1971 1973   Santo Domingo
Dominican Republic
   Apartado 1144, which in 2011 is the Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
1973 1981 Whereabouts unknown  
  Clerx is not indexed in the 1974-1981 Directories
1981 1982   Brussels
Belgium
   Listed as here in the Missionhurst entry in the Foreign Missions section of the 1982 Directory.
1982 1985    
South West Africa
   Index of the 1983 and 1984 Directories place Clerx here, but South West Africa is not included in the Missionhurst entry of the Foreign Missions section. In the 1985 Directory, Clerx is indexed to South West Africa but listed in Brussels.
1985 1986 Missionhurst Arlington
VA
 8/15. Arlington diocese. Central House and Provincialate.
1986   Immaculate Heart of Mary Pearsall TX The 1986 Directory lists Rev. Clement C. De'Meersman CICM as pastor and sole priest in Pearsall (data collected in Fall 1985, assigned here as of 1/1/86). The 1987 Directory lists Rev. Joseph A. Reyna as pastor and sole priest in Pearsall (data collected in Fall 1986, assigned here as of 1/1/87). Clerx apparently worked at IHM in Pearsall in mid-1986; it is not possible to determine from the Directory whether he overlapped with De'Meersman or Reyna. San Antonio archdiocese. Clerx is not indexed or listed here in the 1986 Directory, which places him in Arlington VA (see above), but after the Express-News broke the Clerx story on 1/26/11, the archdiocese released a statement on 1/27/11 that placed Clerx at IHM in Pearsall in 1986.
1986   St. Augustine Moore TX   San Antonio archdiocese. Mission of IHM in Pearsall.
1986   Our Lady of Mount Carmel Bigfoot TX   San Antonio archdiocese. Mission of IHM in Pearsall.
1986 1988 St. Joseph's Devine
TX
 1/1, Pastor. Then 1/2 with Rev. Clement De'Meersman CICM as the other priest. When Clerx left in 1988, De'Meersman became pastor and sole priest. San Antonio archdiocese. No school. Double-indexed and -listed here and at Missionhurst in Arlington VA in the 1987 and 1988 Directories. In the 1988 Directory (the first that provides ordination years), the TX entry gives '30 as Clerx's ordination year, and the VA entry gives '57.
1988 1992 St. John Berchmans

San Antonio

• Accused in a 2011 suit of repeatedly raping a girl who was an altar server here, beginning when she was 10 years old. Clerx is also accused of molesting the girl's two sisters. See article.
TX
 2/2. Priests were Revs. Francis R. Vanhee and Clerx San Antonio archdiocese. Parish school had 207 students.
1992 1993 Missionhurst Formation Community San Antonio
TX
 Director, with Rev. Leo F. Blanchard CICM San Antonio archdiocese.
1993 1994 Whereabouts unknown       Not indexed in the 1994 Directory.
1994 2002 Padua Place San Antonio TX "Home for infirm and retired priests." In 1994, 15 priests lived here, including Clerx. San Antonio archdiocese. Indexed and listed here in the 1995 Directory under the name Theodore Clerx CICM, but with the identifying ordination year of '57. Double-indexed and -listed as Theo Clerx, assigned to Missionhurst in Arlington VA. In the 1995-2002 Directories he is indexed and listed only at Padua Place, not in Arlington, and is called Theodore Clerx.
2002 2003 Whereabouts unknown       Not indexed in the 2003 Directory.
12/17/03   Died

  
  Listed in the Necrology of the 2005 Directory as Theo Clerx, with Missionhurst in Arlington as the location.

 

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 2005). See also:
- Woman Claiming Abuse by S.A. Priest, by Abe Levy, Express-News, February 26, 2011
- Official Statement Concerning Lawsuit Involving Accusations of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor by Rev. Theo Clerx, Office of Communication, Archdiocese of San Antonio, February 27, 2011

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 Clerx's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with an allegation of sexual abuse contained in a civil suit and 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 2/28/11.