Thomas Ludger Dupré

Bishop Thomas Ludger Dupré

Thomas Ludger Dupré (born November 10, 1933 in South Hadley , Massachusetts , † December 30, 2016 ) was a Roman Catholic bishop of Springfield .

Life

Thomas Ludger Dupré studied at the Collége de Montréal in Canada and then switched to theology studies after a short stay at Assumption College in Worcester , Massachusetts , at the Grand Seminary of Montreal . On May 23, 1959, Dupré was ordained a priest by Bishop Christopher Joseph Weldon . Dupré initially worked as a curate at St. George Church in Chicopee and then went to the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC for further studies. In 1966, Dupré was employed at St. Joseph Church in Springfield . As a priest he was in the following years in the parishes of St. John the Baptist in Ludlow (1970 to 1973), in the parish of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Chicopee (1973 to 1977) and in the parish of St. Louis de France in West Springfield (1978 to 1990).

Pope John Paul II appointed Thomas Ludger Dupré on April 7, 1990 titular bishop of Hodelm and auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Springfield . He was ordained episcopal on May 31 of the same year by the Bishop of Springfield, Joseph Francis Maguire . Co- consecrators were Timothy Joseph Harrington , Bishop of Worcester, and Leo Edward O'Neil , Coadjutor Bishop of Manchester.

On March 14, 1995, Dupré became Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts. Dupré succeeded Bishop John Aloysius Marshall .

On February 11, 2004, Dupré resigned from his office as bishop for health reasons. His resignation came after the regional newspaper The Springfield Republican Dupré faced two cases of abuse of altar servers from his earlier days as a simple priest. In September 2004, Dupré was by a court in Hampden County because of sexual abuse of children criminally charged. Since the offenses were now statute-barred , the criminal proceedings were discontinued. After the end of the criminal case, Dupré went to the Catholic-owned psychiatric hospital at St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring , Maryland . Most recently Dupré lived in St. Luke.

Individual evidence

Web links

predecessor	Office	successor
John Aloysius Marshall	Bishop of Springfield 1995-2004	Timothy Anthony McDonnell

personal data
SURNAME	Dupré, Thomas Ludger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American clergyman, Roman Catholic bishop
DATE OF BIRTH	November 10, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH	South Hadley , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH	December 30, 2016

[1] The Springfield Republican: History of Former Bishop Thomas Ludger Dupré

[2] Washington Post: “Mass. Bishop Charged With Rape; No Trial Planned "

[3] New York Times: "Bishop Is Indicted in Sex Abuse Case but Won't Be Prosecuted"