Rev. Michael L. Plourde

 Ordained: 1976
Incardinated: Portland ME

     

Start Stop Parish Town State Position Notes
1976 1978 St. Joseph's

Biddeford

• Accused in 1994 of sexually abusing 2 minors here.

 ME 3/3. Parish school had 455 pupils in 1976-77.
1978 1983 St. Hyacinth's Westbrook ME 2/2.  
1983 1986 St. Joseph's Biddeford ME 2/4. Parish school had 393 pupils in 1983-84.
1986 1990 St. Agatha's St. Agatha ME 1/1. Pastor. In the 1990 Directory, Plourde is listed at St. Agatha's, but his index entry also notes: Sabbatical.
1986 1990 St. Michael's Chapel Madawaska ME 1/1. Mission of St. Agatha's.
1989 1990 St. Joseph's Sinclair ME 1/1. Administrator. In the 1990 Directory, Plourde is listed at St. Agatha's, but his index entry also notes "Sabbatical" and he is one of three priests listed in a sabbatical section.
1989 1990 St. Euthrope's Guerette ME 1/1. Administrator. Mission of St. Joseph's
1990 1992 St. Mary's Augusta ME 1/3. Pastor. Parish school had 250 pupils in 1990-91.
1992 1993 St. John the Baptist Winslow ME 2/2. The pastor was Rev. Maurice N. Morin. Parish school had 159 pupils in 1992-92. Catachesis program had 305 students.
1993 1994 St. Joseph's Gardiner ME 2/2. In residence. The pastor was Rev. Michael J. McDonald. Catachesis program had 336 students.
            Plourde is not indexed in the 1995-2005 Directory.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1977-2005); Names of Accused Priests Released, by Trevor Maxwell, Portland Press Herald (January 28, 2007); Bishop Decides Not to Wait for Vatican before Releasing Names, by David Sharp, Sun Journal (January 28, 2007); Victims' Group Not Satisfied with Bishop's Announcement, by Caroline Cornish, WCSH (January 28, 2007); Bishop Releases Names of Accused Priests: Malone Changes Procedure Regarding Public Notification, WMTW (January 28, 2007); Bishop Names Accused Priests, by Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News (January 29, 2007).

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 Plourde's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations announced by Bishop Malone and reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation 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 1/29/07.