Assignment Record– Rev. Lawrence Joseph Michaud, s.m.

Summary of Case: A priest of the Marist Order ordained in 1936, Michaud worked in Massachusetts, Maine, Washington DC and Rhode Island. He died in 1990. Michaud was accused in a 1994 letter to Cardinal Law of having sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in the late 1950s or early 1960s, while he was assigned to St. Joseph's in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

Ordained
: 1936
Died: November 2, 1990

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1936

Boston archbishop was William Henry O'Connell (1907-1944).

1944 Our Lady of Pity (French) Cambridge MA 2/3, 2/4, 3/3

Parish had a school with 270-201 boys and 340-284 girls.

Michaud is initially listed as "Laurent" Michaud, s.m.

Michaud continues to be listed in the Boston archdiocesan pages of the Directories at this parish through 1946, in addition to his listing at Sacred Heart in Lawrence.

1944

O'Connell was succeeded by Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

1946 Sacred Heart (French) Lawrence MA 3/4, 3/3 Parish had a grade school with 285-250 boys and 365-426 girls, and a high school with 85-93 girls.

1946

Portland bishop was Joseph Edward McCarthy (1932-1955).

1947 St. Bruno's Van Buren ME 3/4 Parish had a grade school with 443 boys and 465 boys, and a high school with 138 boys and 180 girls.

1947

D.C. archbishop was Patrick Aloysius
O'Boyle
(1947-1973).

1948 Marist Seminary Washington D.C.  

This was the Provincial House of the Washington Province of the Marist Fathers.

Michaud is indexed but is not listed in the Washington D.C. archdiocesan pages of the Directory as at this assignment.

1948 1954 Sacred Heart Lawrence MA 1/4, 1/5, 1/3 Parish had a grade school with 265-309 boys and 268-290 girls, and a high school with 80-108 girls.

1954

 

1955

St. John the Baptist

Chapel-Naval Air Base

Brunswick ME   Parish had a school with 339 boys and 349 girls.
1954 1955 St. Andrew's Pejepscot ME   This was a mission of St. John's in Brunswick.
1955 1963 St. Joseph's (French)

Haverhill

In a 1994 letter to Cardinal Law, a woman accused Michaud of having sexually abused her when she was 12- years-old, while he served at this parish. (Document produced by Boston archdiocese)

MA 2/5, 2/4, 1/4, 1/5 Parish had a school with 319-298 boys and 363-276 girls.
1963 1964 Our Lady of Victories (French) Boston MA 4/7  
1964 1967 St. Therese's Methuen MA 2/3

Parish had a school with 228-244 boys and 242-223 girls.

Michaud continues to be listed in the 1968 Directory's Boston archdiocesan pages as at St. Theresa's, although is is indexed only as at his next assignment, in Maine.

1967

Portland bishop wa Daniel Joseph Feeney (1955-1969).

1968 St. Remy's Keegan ME 1/1  

1968

Providence bishop was Daniel Joseph Feeney (1955-1969), followed by Peter Leo Gerety (1969-1974).

1970 St. Charles Borromeo (French) Providence RI 1/3 Parish had a school with 148-138 boys and 165-161 girls.

1970

Cushing was replaced as Boston archbishop by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

1971 St. Therese's Methuen MA 4/5 Parish had a school with 120 boys and 99 girls.
    St. Joseph's Hamlin ME   This assignment is per news reports. (Boston Globe
November 5, 1990)

1971

Portland bishop was Peter Leo Gerety (1969-1974), followed by Edward Cornelius O'Leary (1974-1988). O'Leary was replaced by Joseph John Gerry, O.S.B. (1988-2004).

1990 St. Bruno's Van Buren ME

4/5, 5/6, 5/5, 4/4, 5/8, 4/6, 3/5, 3/4

In residence.

 

1971 1990 St. Rose Chapel Van Buren ME  

This was a mission of St. Bruno's.

Michaud died November 2, 1990.


Source
: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1937-1991)

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 Michaud'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 September 22, 2010.