Rev. Normand J. Demers-Assignment

Assignment History– Rev. Normand J. Demers

Ordained: 1958
Retired: 2005

Start	Stop	Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1958 Bishop of Providence was Russell J. McVinney (1948-1971).	1959	St. John the Evangelist	Slatersville	RI	2/2 Demers worked under Rev. Thomas I. Myrick.
1959	1964?	St. Vincent de Paul (French)	West Warwick	RI	2/2 Pastor was Rev. Telespore St. Jean	Parish had a school with 166-192 boys and 187-173 girls. The Official Catholic Directories index Demers as at St. Vincent's during these years, but he is not listed there in the OCD's diocesan pages for 1962-1964.
1964 McVinney was replaced as Bishop by Louis E. Gelineau (1972-1997).	1973	Our Lady of Fatima Hospital	North Providence • Allegations in 2002 that Demers sexually molested a 12- to 14-year-old boy while Chaplain at this hospital. (Associated Press State & Local Wire March 28, 2002)	RI	Chaplain
1973	1974	Rhode Island State Institutions	Cranston	RI	Chaplain Demers is listed as 5/5 chaplains, after Revs. Joseph Baribeau, M.S.C., Robert Langlais, M.S.C., Fernand A. Roberge, M.S.C., Laurent Gosseln, M.S.C.
1974	1990	St. Joseph's	Providence • Demers is reported to have resigned from St. Joseph's and taken a short leave of absence in 1990, after he was accused of "inappropriate behavior" against boys at a Haitian orphanage. (Providence Journal-Bulletin April 19, 2002)	RI	3/3, 2/2, 1/4, 1/2, 1/3, 1/1 Demers is listed as in residence 1974-1976. Pastor those years was Rev. Edward W.K. Mullen. Second priest 1975-1975 was Rev. Auguste J. Delvaux. Demers moved to the pastor position in 1976. In residence 1976-1977, and then 1978-1981 was Rev. Bertand L. Theroux. Also in residence 1976-1977 were Revs. Jose Marie de Sousa, C.S.Sp and Raphael Iannone, O.F.M. Cap. In 1977-1978 Rev. John E. Abreu was the only other priest, and is listed as in residence. Demers and Theroux were joined 1978-1980 by Rev. Meneleo Litonjua, in residence. From 1981-1990 Demers is the only priest listed in the OCD's as at St. Joseph's.
1986	1989	The Haitian Project	• Demers was accused in 1989 of inappropriately touching boys at this Haiti orphanage. He was briefly jailed in Haiti and the orphanage asked him to resign. Providence Bishop Gelineau allowed him to continue working in the Providence diocese. (Providence Journal-Bulletin April 19, 2002)	Haiti	Executive DIrector	Demers helped found The Haitian Project in 1986, which was an orphanage with a school. Per news reports, there were a "a dozen boys in the orphanage and 60 children in the school." (Providence Journal-Bulletin April 19, 2002).
1990 Robert Edward Mulvee replaced Gelineau as Bishop in 1997 (1997-2005).	2002	St. Martha's	East Providence	RI	2/3, 2/2 Pastor during 1990-1992 was Rev. John F. Doran, with Demers in second spot, followed by Rev. Paul F. Reynolds. Thereafter Demers is the second and last priest listed under Rev. Jude P. McGeough.	St. Martha's had a religious education program, first listed in the OCD's in 1995, with 208-380 students.
2002	2005	Absent on leave
2005 Thomas Joseph Tobin succeeded Mulvee as Providence Bishop (2005 -).	2016	Retired	Providence	RI

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1959-2016)

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 & 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 Demer'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 November 15, 2017.