Assignment Record – Bro. Ignatius J. Jakes, s.j.

Summary of Case: An Inupiat Eskimo, Ignatius J. Jakes entered the Jesuit Novitiate in Sheridan, OR as a coadjutator postulate September 4, 1943, making his perpetual vows in March 1946. He spent his career as a manual laborer for the Jesuits in Spokane WA, Holy Cross, St. Mary's and Fairbanks, AK and numerous Alaskan missions. He died in 1999 in a Jesuit infirmary at Gonzaga University in Spokane. Jakes was accused in a 2006 lawsuit of sexually abusing three young girls in Holy Cross, AK in the 1980s. The girls were said to have been between the ages of 5- and 7-years-old when abused. Jakes' name was included on a list in the Fairbanks' diocese's 2010 bankruptcy documents of 'Individuals against whom a complaint of abuse has been asserted by more than one person'.

Perpetual Vows: March 12, 1946
Died: August 23, 1999

   

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1946

Portland archbishop was Edward Daniel Howard (1926-1966).

1947 Jesuit Novitiate Sheridan OR novitiate farm worker  

1947

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

1948 Manresa Hall Port Townsend WA tended the furnace; worked in the laundry and linen closet  

1948

Spokane bishop was Charles Daniel White (1926-1955).

1951 Mount St. Michael's Spokane WA maintenance worker; hauled sawdust via dumptruck to Mount St. Michael's heating plant  

1951

Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska/ bishop was Francis Doyle Gleeson, s.j. (1948-1968).

1962 Holy Cross Mission Holy Cross AK maintenance worker  

1962

The Fairbanks diocese was established Aug. 8, 1962.

1966   Fairbanks AK collected, repaired and shipped military surplus supplies to schools and missions in northern Alaska  

1966

Portland archbishop was Robert Joseph Dwyer (1966-1974).

1968 Jesuit Novitiate Sheridan OR   Jakes was sent to Sheridan due to problems related to alcoholism.
1968 1972 Jesuit High School Portland OR groundskeeper  

1972

Fairbanks bishop was Robert Louis Whelan, s.j. (1968-1985), followed by Michael Joseph Kaniecki, s.j. (1985-2000).

1995 St. Mary's Mission

St. Mary's

• Jakes was accused in a 2006 lawsuit of sexually abusing three girls during the 1980s at Holy Cross Mission. One of his accusers said she was 5-7 years old when the abuse occurred, between 1983 and 1986, and that Jakes said they were "playing doctor". She said the abuse included intercourse. Jakes' other two accusers said they were just as young and that the abuse included finger penetration.

AK maintenance worker; driver to and from airport Jakes was sent to various missions to do maintenance work throughout the years.
1995 June 1999 Jesuit Community Fairbanks AK   Jakes suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995 and was sent to live with the Jesuit Community in Fairbanks.

June 1999

Spokane bishop was William Stephen Skylstad (1990-2010).

Aug. 1999 Jesuit Infirmary at Gonzaga University Spokane WA patient Jakes died Aug. 23, 1999.

 

Sources:

• Alaskana Catholica: A History of the Catholic Church in Alaska, by Louis L. Renner, s.j.
• Two Suits Claiming Church Abuse Filed, The Associated Press, carried in KTVA [Alaska], September 22, 2006
• Suits Accuse Two Jesuits of Sex Abuse, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Fairbanks News-Miner [Alaska], September 23, 2006
• Two Jesuits Named in Sexual Abuse Suit, The Associated Press, carried in Juneau Empire, September 24, 2006
• Jesuit Abuse Settlement Aims to Heal, $50 Million: Religious Order's Head Says Church Failed Victims in Alaska, By Lisa Demer
Anchorage Daily News, November 20, 2007
• Excerpt from Bankruptcy Reorganization Documents for Fairbanks Diocese, Jan. 25, 2010, p. 1


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This assignment record collates Jakes' 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 May 12, 2014.