Assignment Record – Rev. Milton Eggerling

Summary of Case: Milton Eggerling was ordained for the Sioux Falls SD diocese in 1954. His career is marked by many transfers within and among multiple dioceses, including Sioux Falls, St. Paul-Minneapolis MN, Bismarck ND, Oakland CA, Austin TX, San Jose CA, Lima Peru, and Boston MA. He died in 2008. Eggerling was accused in a March 2016 lawsuit of sexually abusing an Austin TX altar boy in the 1970s, beginning when the boy was 11-years-old and continuing for five years. The boy was from a 'broken home;' Eggerling reportedly plied him with special attention, gifts, trips and alcohol.

Ordained: 1954
Died: February 29, 2008

 




   
Start Stop Assignment Town State/Country Position Notes

1954

Sioux Falls bishop was William Otterwell Brady (1939-1956), followed by Lambert Anthony Hoch (1956-1978).		 1958 St. Joseph Cathedral Sioux Falls SD 2/4 The Cathedral had a grade school with 741-788 students, and a high school with 387-331 students.

1958

St. Paul-Minneapolis archbishop was William Otterwell Brady (1956-1961).

 1959 Corpus Christi St. Paul MN 2/2  

1959

Bismarck bishop was Hilary Baumann Hacker (1956-1982).

 1960 Bishop Ryan High School Minot ND   Bishop Ryan High had 255 students.
1959 1960 St. Therese the Little Flower Minot ND 2/2 St. Therese's had a school with 425 students.

1960

St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese

 1961 University of Minnesota Newman Hall Minneapolis MN In residence.  

1961

Sioux Falls diocese

 1962 St. George Harford SD 1/1  
1961 1962 St. Joseph Huntimer SD   This was a mission of St. George's in Harford.
1962 1965 St. Magdalen Lennox SD 1/1  
1962 1963 St. Edward Worthing SD   St. Edward's was a mission of St. Magdalen's in Lennox.
1965 1967 St. Agatha Howard SD 1/1 "Very Rev." St. Agatha's had a grade school with 161-99 students, and a high school with 102 students.
1965 1967 Deans and Council of Vigilance

 Sioux Falls SD    
1967 1970 Roncali Central Catholic High School Aberdeen SD   Roncali High had 433-414 students.

1970

Oakland bishop was Floyd Lawrence Begin (1962-1977).

 1971 St. Felicitas San Leandro CA 3/4

St. Felicitas had a school with 234 boys and 230 girls.

The 1971 Directory indexes him only as "On Duty Outside the Diocese" without indicating where. Eggerling's obituary pointed to this assignment; he is indeed listed as there in the Directory's Oakland pages.
1971 1973 Corpus Christi Piedmont CA 2/3 Corpus Christi had a school with 113-108 boys and 114-105 girls.

1973

Austin bishop was Vincent Madeley Harris (1971-1985).

 1978 St. Louis

Austin

• Eggerling was accused in a March 2016 lawsuit of sexually abusing an Austin boy in the 1970s, beginning when the boy was an 11-year-old altar server, and continuing for 5 years. Eggerling reportedly became a mentor and father figure for the boy - who was from a 'broken home' - luring him with special attention, including giving him gifts and taking him on trips. He also is said to have plied the boy with alcohol.

 TX 3/3, 3/4 In residence per 1974 Directory. St. Louis had a school with 418-376 students. The 1973 Directory lists Eggerling as both at Corpus Christi in Piedmont CA and St. Louis' in Austin TX. The 1975-78 Directories index him as at St. Louis', but he is not listed as there in the Austin pages.
1974 1978 Austin State Hospital Austin TX Chaplain  
1978 1979 School for the Deaf Austin TX Chaplain  

1979

Oakland bishop was John Stephen Cummins (1977-2003).

 1983 Providence Hospital Oakland CA Assistant Chaplain 1979-82; Supervisor, CPE program and In residence 1982-83.  
1983 1984 St. Augustine Oakland CA 1/3 St. Augustine's had a school with 260 students.

1984

San Jose bishop was Roland Pierre DuMaine (1981-1999).

 1987 Our Lady of the Rosary Palo Alto CA 3/3, 4/4 In residence.  
1987 1988 On Special Assignment       The 1988 Directory indexes Eggerling as "On Special Assignment," but does not indicate where.

1988

Lima archbishop was Juan Landázuri Ricketts, O.F.M. (1955-1989), followed by Augusto Vargas Alzamora, S.J. (1989-1999).

 1991 Parroquia Santiago Apostol En Comas Lima Peru   This assignment is listed in the Directory's Boston pages under The Society of St. James the Apostle.

1991

Oakland diocese

 1993 St. Patrick Rodeo CA 2/2 St. Patrick's had a school with 274 students.

1993

Boston archbishop was Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002), followed by Sean Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. (2003-).

 2008 St. Stephen Boston MA 3/3, 2/2, 2/3

The Directories from 1999 on do not list St. Stephen's parish in the Boston pages, yet Eggerling is indexed as there. He is also indexed as a retired Oakland priest starting with the 1995 Directory.

Eggerling died February 29, 2008.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1955-2008)

• Lawsuit filed against Austin Catholic diocese over sexual abuse, By Jazmine Ulloa, American-Statesman, March 12, 2016
• Father Milton Eggerling, former St. James Society Member, By Father Robert M. O'Grady, Boston Pilot, March 7, 2008
• Civil suit filed against Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin, By Sarah Navoy, KEYE, March 14, 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 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 Eggerling's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with ... as it is 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 15, 2016.