Assignment Record – Rev. James W. Plamondon, s.j.

Summary of Case: James W. Plamondon was ordained a priest of the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus in 1951. He was sent to Alaska where he ministered in remote villages until 1972, at which point he was transferred to the Great Falls MT diocese. Plamondon studied in Berkeley CA 1974-1975, then did retreat work in the St. Paul-Minneapolis archdiocese for a year. He left the priesthood in 1977 to marry and moved to Worcester MA. He died in 1989. Plamondon's name was included on the Fairbanks AK Diocese's list of accused priests and religious with admitted, proven or credible accusations. There is one known accusation against him.

Ordained: June 13, 1951
Left priesthood: 1977
Died: May 24, 1989


     

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State/Country Position Notes

1951

Indianapolis archbishop was Paul Clarence Schulte (1946-1970).

1952 West Baden College West Baden Springs IN student priest This was a House of Studies for the Jesuits' Chicago Province.

1952

Seattle archbishop was Thomas Arthur Connolly (1950-1975).

1953 Manresa Hall Port Townsend WA tertianship  

1953

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

1954 Our Lady of the Snows Nulato AK 2/2 Our Lady of the Snows had a school with 50 students.
1953 1954   Kaltag, Koyukuk AK   These were stations of Our Lady of the Snows in Nulato.
1954 1962 St. John Berchman's Galena AK 1/1  
    Galena Air Force Base Galena AK chaplain  
1955 1962 St. Francis Regis Huslia AK   This was 70 miles north of Galena. There was no resident priest. Plamondon would regularly say mass at St. Francis Regis, and helped build the church.
1954 1962   Ruby, Tanana AK   These were stations of St. John Berchman's in Galena.

1962

The Fairbanks diocese was established Aug. 8, 1962.

1965 St. Michael's St. Michael AK    
1962 1965   Stebbins, Hamilton, Chaneliak, Kotlik, Bill Moore's Slough AK   These were stations of St. Michael's in St. Michael.
1965 1967 St. Catherine Mission Kotlik AK 1/1  
1965 1967   Bill Moore's Slough; Chuloonawick, Hamilton     These were stations of St. Catherine's in Kotlik.
1967 1972 St. Joseph's Mission Kotlik AK    
1967 1972   Chuloonawick, Emmonak, Hamilton AK   These were stations of St. Joseph's in Kotlik.

1972

Great Falls bishop was Eldon Bernard Schuster (1967-1977).

1974 St. Jude Thaddeus' Havre

MT

 3/4 St. Jude's had a school with 285-253 students, and a religious vacation school with 150 students.
1972 1974 St. John's Cottonwood MT   This was a mission of St. Jude's in Havre.

1974

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

1975 School of Applied Theology, Graduate Theological Union Berkeley CA   Plamondon is indexed but not listed as in Berkeley in the 1975-1977 Directories.

1975

St. Paul and Minneapolis archbishop was John Robert Roach (1975-1995).

1976 Cenacle Retreat House Wayzata MN

staff member

Plamondon also worked in the National Marriage Encounter Movement.

Plamondon is not indexed beyond the 1977 Directory.

 
1976 1977        

Per Alaskana Catholica, by Louis L. Renner, s.j. Plamondon did not have a particular assignment 1976-1977. He left the priesthood in 1977 and got married.

Plamondon moved to Worcester, MA, where he died May 24, 1989.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1952-1977).

• Huslia - Saint Francis Regis Catholic Church, Diocese of Fairbanks
• James W. Plamondon, Findagrave.com
• Alaskana Catholica: A History of the Catholic Church in Alaska, by Louis L. Renner, s.j.
• List of Perpetrators, Diocese of Fairbanks, April 4, 2012


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 Plamondon'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 Aug. 8, 2014.