Rev. Louis Taelman, S.J.

Assignment Record– Rev. Louis J.Taelman, S.J.

Summary of Case: Ordained for the Society of Jesus in 1898, Louis Taelman spent most of his long career on the Crow and Flathead Indian reservations in Montana. Early on he spent four years as president of Gonzaga College in Spokane WA. Through the 1940s and into the early 1950s he was assigned to Mt. St. Michael's Scholasticate in Spokane, Washington in the role of "Indian missionary", as noted in the Official Catholic Directory. He died in 1961.

Taelman's name was included on the Diocese of Helena's list of known alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse. The diocese posted the list to its website in April 2015 as one of the non-monetary terms of its March 2015 bankruptcy settlement.

Ordained: 1898
Died: December 24, 1961

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1898 Diocese of Nesqually Bishop was Edward John O'Dea (1896-1932).	1900		North Yakima	WA		The Jesuits were affiliated with Rocky Mountain Mission.
1900 Archdiocese of St. Louis Archbishop was John Joseph Kain (1895-1903).	1901	St. Stanislaus Seminary and Novitiate of the Society of Jesus	Florissant	MO	tertian father
1901 Diocese of Helena Bishop was Jean-Baptiste Brondel (1883-1903), followed by John Patrick Carroll (1904-1925).	1905	St. Francis Xavier Mission	St. Xavier/Crow Indian Reservation	MT	1/2
1901	1905	St. Charles' Mission, Crow Indians, St. Simon's, Crow Agency		MT		These were missions of St. Xavier Mission.
1901	1905		Big Horn Valley	MT		This was a station of St. Xavier Mission.
1905	1909	St. Ignatius Mission	Flathead Reservation	MT	1/3, 1/4 Superior	St. Ignatius Mission had 80 students.
1905	1909	St. John Berchman's	Jocko	MT		This was a mission of St. Ignatius Mission.
1905	1909	Kootenal Indians		MT		This was a of St. Ignatius Mission.
1907	1909		Dayton Creek, Ronan	MT		These were stations of St. Ignatius Mission.
1909 Diocese of Seattle Bishop was Edward John O'Dea (1896-1932).	1913	Gonzaga College	Spokane	WA	President, Prefect of Studies	College for boys and house of studies for scholastics, with 207-200 boarders and 233-300 day scholars.
1913 Diocese of Great Falls Bishop was Mathias Clement Lenihan (1904-1930).	1921	St. Francis Xavier Mission	Crow Indian Reservation	MT	1/2 Superior	St. Francis Xavier Mission had a school with 60-117 students.
1913	1921	St. Simons	Crow Agency	MT		This was a mission of St. Francis Xavier Mission.
1913	1921	St. Ann	Lodgegrass	MT		This was a mission of St. Francis Xavier Mission.
1913	1915		Big Horn Valley, Hardin	MT		These were stations of St. Francis Xavier Mission.
1915	1921	St. Joseph	Hardin	MT		This was a mission of St. Francis Xavier Mission.
1915	1921	Immaculate Conception	Crow Agency	MT		This was a mission of St. Francis Xavier Mission.
1915	1921	St. Charles Borromeo	Pryor	MT		This was a mission of St. Francis Xavier Mission.
1919	1921	St. Theresa	Broadview	MT		This was a mission of St. Francis Xavier Mission.
1921	1924	St. Joseph	Hardin	MT	1/1, 1/2 Rector
1921	1924	St. Theresa	Broadview	MT		This was a mission of St. Joseph in Hardin.
1921	1924	Immaculate Conception	Crow Agency	MT		This was a mission of St. Joseph in Hardin.
1921	1924	St. Anthony	Wyola	MT		This was a mission of St. Joseph in Hardin.
1921	1924	Wyola Day School	Wyola	MT		Wyola Day School had 46 students. This was a mission of St. Joseph in Hardin.
1924 Diocese of Helena Bishop Carroll was succeeded by George Joseph Finnigan, C.S.C. (1927-1932). Finnigan was replaced by Ralph Leo Hayes (1933-1935), then Joseph Michael Gilmore (1935-1962).	1940	St. Ignatius Mission	St. Ignatius	MT	1/3, 2/2, 2/3, 1/3 Superior 1935-1939	St. Ignatius Mission had a boarding and day school with 70-120 girls. The Directories from 1934 on the describe the boarding and day school as "for girls and little boys." There were 16-68 boys. The Mission also had a high school with 170-112 students.
1924	1927	St. John Berchman	Jocko, Arlee	MT		This was a mission of St. Ignatius Mission.
1924	1927		Ravalli	MT		This was a station of St. Ignatius Mission.
1936	1939	St. Leonard	Dixon	MT		This was a mission of St. Ignatius Mission.
1938	1940	Sacred Heart	Arlee	MT		This was a mission of St. Ignatius Mission.
1940 Diocese of Spokane Bishop was Charles Daniel White (1926-1955).	1952	Mt. St. Michael's Scholasticate	Spokane	WA	Indian missionary
1952 Diocese of Helena Bishop was Joseph Michael Gilmore (1935-1962).	1958	St. Ignatius Mission	St. Ignatius	MT	4/5, 44, 3/4
1952	1958	Sacred Heart	Arlee	MT
1952	1958	St. John Berchman	Jocko	MT
1952	1958	St. Leonard	Dixon	MT
1958	1961	Holy Family Hospital	St. Ignatius Mission	MT	chaplain	Taelman died December 24, 1961.

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.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1900-1962).

• Diocese of Helena Bankruptcy Settlement, March 4, 2015
• Diocese of Helena List, April 29, 2015

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 Taelman's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations 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 29, 2016.