Monsignor Wesley Michael Landry
Archdiocese of New Orleans
Ordained: 1948
Removed: 1993
Died: 2002
Assigned as follows:
- Christ the King (Gretna, LA)
- Incarnate Word (New Orleans, LA)
- St. Anthony (Gretna, LA)
- St. Cecilla (New Orleans, LA)
- St. Gabriel the Archangel (New Orleans, LA)
- St. Joseph (Thibodaux, LA)
- St. Leo the Great (New Orleans, LA)
- St. Theresa of the Child Jesus (New Orleans, LA)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Monsignor Wesley Michael Landry:
According to media reports, in March 1993, Monsignor Wesley Michael Landry admitted to the Archdiocese of New Orleans that he sexually abused a boy for decades. The victim reported it to the church two months later in May. The abuse first started when he was age 11 or 12 and served as an altar boy at Incarnate Word Church in New Orleans in the 1950s.
The victim, who came from a poor family, said Monsignor Landry seduced him slowly, “betting” more and more money that he would not allow the priest to rub, kiss or fondle him. Eventually, he was performing oral sex on the boy. Monsignor Landry gave him money for sex, amounting to $100,000 over a 45 year period.
“The money controlled it,” said the victim. “He made me his own personal prostitute….This story goes a lot deeper than a Catholic priest molesting an altar boy….It’s destroyed my life.”
In his darkest hour he said he tried to kill himself in the kitchen of the priest’s home in Slidell, cutting his forearm to the bone. The victim said the priest paid the hospital bill.
In April 1993, the Archdiocese gave the victim $7,000 to get a release from liability. Monsignor Landry “retired” that June. He died in 2002.
In November 2018, his name appeared publicly on the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for federal bankruptcy protection in April 2020. Our lawyers are now offering free legal consultations to discuss your legal options as a survivor of sexual abuse by priests and other employees of the New Orleans Archdiocese.
Very strict filing deadlines will soon be set by the Bankruptcy Court. Most victims of abuse will never be able to recover damages if they miss this deadline, so please contact us to discuss your case today. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to [email protected]damhorowitzlaw.com.