Brother Bernard “Berard” Connolly
Archdiocese of Los Angeles (Franciscan)
Ordained: Unknown
Died: 1999
Assignment History:
- 1945-1946: Old Mission (San Luis Rey, CA)
- 1946-1948: Old Mission (Santa Barbara, CA)
- 1948-1949: Old Mission (San Miguel, CA)
- 1949-1950: St. Joseph’s (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1950-1953: St. Francis Retreat (San Juan Bautista, CA)
- 1953-1958: Serra Retreat (Malibu, CA)
- 1958-1964: Ascension (Portland, OR)
- 1964: St. Francis (Spokane, WA)
- 1965-1967: Unknown
- 1968: St. Anne’s (Spokane, WA)
- 1969-1970: Unknown
- 1971-1978: St. Francis (Provo, UT)
- 1978: St. Elizabeth’s (Oakland, CA)
- 1979: Elected Definitor of the Province; Vocation Secretary; Editor of West Friars
- 1980: St. Anthony Seminary; Vocation Director of the Province; Promoter for SAS
- 1981: Unknown
- 1982: Director of Associate Program, Formation
- 1983-1984: Unknown
- 1985-1987: St. Anthony’s Seminary (Santa Barbara, CA)
- 1988: San Xavier Mission (Tucson, AZ)
- 1989-1992: Unknown
- 1993: St. Francis Retreat (San Juan Bautista, CA)
- 1994-1998: Unknown
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Brother Bernard Connolly:
Br. Bernard Connelly (Connolly) was a member of the Franciscan Order and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Los Angeles. According to media reports, in 1993, a woman filed a lawsuit against Br. Connelly, alleging she was sexually abused in the early 1970s when she was a student at Marycliff High School in Spokane, WA. Br. Connelly was sent to The Institute of Living, an institution known for treating priests accused of child sexual abuse. He was transferred back to California in 1978. Br. Connelly died in 1999.
In 2003, another survivor came forward with a lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse by Br. Connelly from 1985 to 1987 while he worked at St. Anthony’s Seminary in Santa Barbara, CA.
In 2012, Br. Connelly’s personnel file was released to the public. Br. Connelly was included in the Diocese of Spokane’s list of admitted, proven, or credibly accused perpetrators of sexual abuse and on the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ list of priests accused of sexual misconduct. He is also listed on the Oakland Diocese’s 2019 list and on the Santa Barbara Province Franciscans list in 2019, which notes reports of abuse occurring in 1960-61, 1982-84 reported in 1993, 2003, 2004, and 2014. His status as a priest, whereabouts, and whether he had access to children from 1994 until his death in 1999 is unknown.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles now have legal options due to a voluntary compensation fund created by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, but filing deadlines will apply, so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in California and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.