Ernest Justin Hill, S.T.—Assignment Record

Summary of Case: Suspended by his order in 1994 for refusing to undergo psychological testing. Accused in 1999 of sexual abuse in Maine in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Hill became an S.T. brother in 1944 and an S.T. priest in 1951.

Born: Approximately 1922
Ordained: 6/5/51; became brother 1944
Incardinated: Priest of the Missionaries of the Most Holy Trinity; listed in the Natchez MS, Paterson NJ, Richmond VA, Oklahoma City and Tulsa OK, Covington KY, Boston MA, and Portland ME dioceses.
Suspended: 1994

     

Start Stop Parish Town State Position Notes
1951 1952 St. Ann's Carthage MS 1/1. Pastor. In Natchez diocese (all of MS). Parish school had 73 children.
1951 1952 St. Joachim (colored) Carthage MS 1/1. Pastor. Mission of St. Ann's in Carthage. See historical note.
1952 1954 Annunciation Kiln MS 2/2. The pastor was Rev. Charles Tague, S.T.  
1952 1954 Our Lady of the Pines Catahoula MS 2/2. Mission of Annunciation church.
1952 1954 St. Joseph's Fenton MS 2/2. Mission of Annunciation church.
1952 1954 St. Louis of France Rocky Hill MS 2/2. Mission of Annunciation church.
1952 1954 Infant Jesus White Cypress MS 2/2. Mission of Annunciation church.
1954 1956 Holy Ghost Missionary Cenacle and Shrine of St. Joseph Stirling NJ 3/4. In Paterson diocese.
1956 1958 St. Elizabeth's Colonial Beach VA 2/3. Pastor was Rev. Boniface Cunningham, S.T. Staffed by S.T. order priests. In Richmond diocese.
1956 1958 St. Paul's Hague VA 2/3. Mission of St. Elizabeth's.
1956 1958 St. Francis Kilmarnock VA 2/3. Mission of St. Elizabeth's.
1956 1958 St. Anthony's King George VA 2/3. Mission of St. Elizabeth's.
1956 1958 St. Timothy's Tapahannock VA 2/3. Mission of St. Elizabeth's. Two other unnamed mission churches are listed, in Dahlgren and Ophelia.
1958 1962 Sacred Heart Hitchcock OK 1/1. Pastor. In Oklahoma City and Tulsa diocese.
1958 1962 St. Joseph's Loyal OK 1/1. Pastor. Mission of Sacred Heart church.
1958 1961 St. Eugene's Canton OK 1/1. Pastor. Mission of Sacred Heart church.
1962 1965 St. Ann Mission Manchester KY 1/1, then 2/2, apparently in residence. In the 1965 Directory, Hill is not listed in this parish, but is indexed here. The pastor in that Directory was Rev. Walter O'Donnell, S.T. In Covington diocese. Parish school had 17 boys and 10 girls.
1965 1971 Holy Trinity Missionary Cenacle Silver Spring MD 8/14. Motherhouse of the order. Custodian general was Very Rev. Gerard P. Fredericks, S.T. In Washington archdiocese. Listed for the first year, but afterward, only indexed to Box 30, Silver Spring MD.
1965? ? St. Patrick's Stoneham MA   Assignment not listed in the Directory, but a St. Patrick's parishioner states that Hill worked in the parish.
1971 1978 Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House Washington DC   In Washington archdiocese. Indexed by address, 503 Rock Creek Church Rd., but apparently not listed.
1/79 1/80 St. Joseph's

Wallagrass

• Accused in 1999 of sexual abuse at this or another Portland diocese parish. See newspaper account.

 ME 1/1. Administrator. In Portland ME diocese. So indexed and listed in the 1979 Directory.
1978 1979 Sacred Heart Soldier Pond ME 1/1. Administrator. Mission of St. Joseph's.
1/79 1/80 St. Mary Star of the Sea Stonington ME Filled in, according to newspaper account.  
2/80 12/80 Authorized by Portland ME diocese to preach retreats.     See newspaper account.  
2/80 2/81 Other parishes in Portland ME diocese.     Filled in, according to newspaper account.  
            Not indexed in the 1980-93 Directories.
1993 1994 Holy Trinity Mission Seminary Silver Spring MD 7/14. So indexed and listed in 1994 Directory.
1994   Suspended for not agreeing to a psychological evaluation. • An allegation likely prompted the order to demand that Hill be evaluated.      
1999? 2001? Mary Farm, Inc. Grand Isle ME Founder. See press release by associate and reference to Grand Isle in newspaper account. Not indexed in 1995-2005 Directories.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1952-2005). See also Priest Suspended by Catholic Order: Retired Madawaska Cleric Denies Misconduct, by Beurmond Banville, Bangor Daily News (8/8/02); and Public Alerted to Suspended Priest, by Gregory D. Kesich, Portland Press Herald (8/9/02)

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 Hill's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report. We remind our readers that in the U.S. judicial system, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty.

A Note on Nomenclature: We use the term "assignment record," instead of the more common "service record," because "service" is not an appropriate word for the activities of an abusive priest. Dioceses are often less than forthcoming about the activities of retired priests, but when we can determine those activities, we list them in these assignment records, particularly if they involve ministry. Retired priests remain under obedience to their bishop, and even the activities of laicized priests should be a concern to the diocese.

This assignment record was last updated on 5/27/06.