Assignment Record – Rev. Segundo Llorente, s.j.

Summary of Case: A native of Spain, Llorente was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1934. He spent the next 40 years in remote Alaskan villages, which were served by Jesuits' Oregon Province. (He wasn't an official member of the Oregon Province until he requested that status in 1981.) In 1960 Llorente was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives, serving two terms. He also became a well-known writer. Llorente was transferred in 1975 to the Yakima, Washington diocese, and then to the Boise City, Idaho, diocese in 1982. He remained in Boise until he fell ill in November 1988. He died at the Jesuit House Infirmary at Gonzaga University in January 1989. Llorente was accused in a 2004 lawsuit of the sexual abuse in the 1950s of a 6- or 7-year-old native Alaskan boy; his accuser said he abused other young boys during that time as well. In 2005 another man accused Llorente of sexually abusing him in Alaska, when the man was a 4- to 11-year-old boy during 1956-1963. Both accusers were from Sheldon Point, AK.

Ordained: 1934
Died: Jan. 26, 1989

1935

Vicariate Apostolic of Alaska bishop was Joseph Raphael John Crimont, s.j. (1904-1945).

1941

Crimont was succeeded by Walter James Fitzgerald, s.j. (1945-1947), followed by Francis Doyle Gleeson, s.j. (1948-1968).

The 1957 Directory show's St. John's School associated with St. Ignatius, in Nunakak, with 19 students.

Llorente was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1960, serving two terms.

Akulurak, Kwiguk, Imanok, New Knock Hock; Sheldon Point (1954-1962)

• Llorente was accused in a 2004 lawsuit of sexually abusing a 6- or 7-year-old boy during 1956-1957 at St. Peter's in Sheldon Point. His accuser said the Llorente would invite the him into his quarters after catechism class, sexually abuse him, then give him hard candy. He said the priest abused other young boys as well.

• Llorente was accused in a lawsuit in 2005 of sexually abusing a boy at St. Peter's in Sheldon Point many times from 1956-1963, when the boy was 4- to 11 years-old.

1962

The Fairbanks diocese was established Aug. 8, 1962.

1967

Anchorage archbishop was John Joseph Thomas Ryan (1966-1975).

1975

Yakima bishop was Nicolas Eugene Walsh (1974-1976), followed by William Stephen Skylstad (1977-1990).

1982

Boise City bishop was Sylvester William Treinen (1962-1988).

1987

Treinen was succeeded by Tod David Brown (1988-1998).

St. Stanislaus had a school with 167 students.

Nov. 1988

Spokane bishop was Lawrence Harold Welsh (1978-1990).

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1935-1990)

• Our Lady of the Snows Parish, Hooper Bay, Alaska: 1928-2003, Editors Note: This Article Is Indebted to a Considerable Extent to Writings by Father Louis L. Renner, S.J., Alaskan Shepherd, June-July 2003
• Emmonak - Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Diocese Of Fairbanks
• Alakanuk - Saint Ignatius Catholic Church, Diocese Of Fairbanks
• More Priests Accused of Abuse, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner , December 29, 2004
• Abuse Claims Breathe Life into Dead Priests' Past, Lawsuit: Plaintiff Says Catholic Church Protected Men Who Molested Him, By Nicole Tsong, Anchorage Daily News, December 30, 2004
• Four More Say They Were Abused by Priests, Lawsuit: Three Men, One Woman Bring Number of Plaintiffs to 10, By Lisa Demer, Anchorage Daily News, August 17, 2005
• More Victims Added to Priest Abuse Lawsuit, By Mary Beth Smetzer , Fairbanks News-Miner [Alaska] , August 17, 2005
• 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
• Alaskana Catholica: A History of the Catholic Church in Alaska, By Louis L. Renner, s.j.
• Excerpt from Bankruptcy Reorganization Documents for Fairbanks Diocese, Jan. 25, 2010, p. 1
• Segundo Llorente, The Legendary Jesuit Missionaire in the North Pole, webcatolicodejavier.org

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 Llorente'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 May 20, 2014.