Assignment Record– Rev. Leonard F. Stanton

Summary of Case: Leonard F. Stanton was ordained for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1943. He worked in parishes in Abington and Malden before transferring in 1946 to the Diocese of Sioux Falls, SD. His career in SD included pastoring and administering a number of parishes, positions on the Diocesan Tribunal and Diocesan Coordinator of Religious Education. He was also longtime Director of the Catholic Boy Scouts. Stanton retired to San Diego, CA in 1990 and returned to SD in 1995, where he died April 3, 1997. Stanton was accused of child sexual abuse in a lawsuit filed in Boston in 2002.

Born: July 17, 1916
Ordained: January 6, 1943
Died: April 3, 1997

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1942

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

1944 St. Bridget's Abington MA 2/2  
1944 1946 St. Joseph's Malden MA 2/2 Parish had a school with 201-197 boys and 151-140 girls.

1946

Sioux Falls bishop was William Otterwell Brady (1939-1956).

1947 Little Flower of Jesus Sioux Falls SD 2/2  
1947 1949 St. Mary's Bryant SD

1/1

Administrator

  
1947 1949 St. James Willow Lake SD   This was a mission of St. Mary's in Sioux Falls.
1947 1949 St. John's Vienna SD   This was a mission of St. Mary's in Sioux Falls.

1949

Brady was succeeded by Lambert Anthony Hoch (1956-1978).

1958 St. John the Baptist Lesterville SD

1/1

Administrator

  
1949 1958 St. Agnes Sigel SD   This was a mission of St. John the Baptist in Lesterville.
1956 1970 Catholic Boy Scouts   SD Diocesan Director  
1958 1965 St. Bernard's Redfield SD 1/1  
1960 1979 Diocesan Tribunal   SD Judices Pro-Synodal  
1965 1969 St. Agnes Vermillion SD 1/1, 1/2 Parish had a school with 211-164 students.
1965 1969 St. Mary's Garyowen SD   This was a mission of St. Agnes in Vermillion.
1970 1972 Diocesan Religious Education Sioux Falls SD Coordinator  

1972

Paul Vincent Dudley followed Hoch as Sioux Falls bishop (1978-1995).

1986 Immaculate Conception Watertown SD 1/2 Parish had a school with 290-191 students.
1986 1990 Holy Name Watertown SD

2/2

In residence.

 
1990 1995 Retired San Diego CA   Stanton's address was 14767 Caminito Orense Este.

1995

Robert James Carlson replaced Dudley (1995-2004).

 

 1997 Retired Watertown SD  

Stanton lived during this time at Benet Place Independent Senior Apartments and Assisted Living. He died April 3, 1997. He was accused in a 2002 lawsuit against the Boston archdiocese of child sexual abuse. (USA Today
November 11, 2002)


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1943-1997)

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 Stanton'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 November 3, 2015.