Brother Geoffrey Xavier Langan
Archdiocese of Baltimore/Christian Brothers
Joined: 1935
Died: 1984
Assignment History:
- 1937-1938: St. Gabriel’s Hall (Phoenixville, PA)
- 1938-1939: R.C.H.C. (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1939-1941: Lasalle Central (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1941-1952: Calvert Hall College High School (Baltimore, MD)
- 1952-1954: West Catholic (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1955-1959: Central Catholic School (Pittsburgh, PA)
- 1959-1960: Lasalle (Cumberland, MD)
- 1960-1985: Calvert Hall College High School (Baltimore, MD)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Brother Geoffrey Xavier Langan:
Brother Geoffrey Xavier Langan joined the Christian Brothers in 1935 and taught at various schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. In 2019, Br. Langan was listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors list. In April 2023, Maryland’s Attorney General released a report alleging 156 Catholic clergy members sexually abused at least 600 children over six decades. The report lists the names of the abusers, including Brother Langan.
According to the Attorney General’s report, in 2002, a man reported to staff at Calvert Hall in Baltimore that he was sexually abused by Brother Langan from 1967 to 1968. He reported that Br. Langan took him into a classroom, locked the door, and masturbated while kissing him. The victim said it occurred multiple times. Calvert Hall made the mandatory report of the abuse to authorities, and the victim entered a settlement with Calvert Hall and the Christian Brothers in 2011.
Later in 2002, another man reported that he was sexually abused by Brother “Xavier” Langan as a freshman at Calvert Hall during the 1948-1949 school year. The victim said that Br. Langan was his coach on the basketball team, and Langan would tell the victim to take athletic equipment to a storage room where Langan would follow him. In the room, Langan kissed and fondled his genitals which he said occurred a few times a week during the basketball season. After the season, the victim avoided Langan. This victim was interviewed by the Office of the Attorney General and said that he first reported the abuse to the Archdiocese in 1990, but there are no records of that report.
In 2008, a third former Calvert Hall student reported that Langan fondled him in 1979 or 1980 after inviting him to the Brothers’ living quarters for a meal. The archdiocese entered a settlement with the victim.
Brother Langan worked at Calvert Hall for over 30 years and even had named an academic program and a golf tournament named after him. In 2004, one of Langan’s victims requested that Calvert Hall remove him from fundraising appeals for the academic program. Around the same time, several sexual abuse victims requested that Calvert Hall remove Langan’s name from its programs. The school took this action in July 2004.
In 2018, a former Calvert Hall student and victim of Fr. Laurence Brett said Br. Langan would stand by the underwater window into the pool with another man to watch the Calvert Hall students swimming naked. He sometimes appeared to be masturbating.
In 2019, another former Calvert Hall student and victim of Laurence Brett said Langan was nicknamed “Brother Squeeze-ums” and always touched the boys. When interviewed, another teacher at Calvert Hall in the 1970s noted that Langan was “very touchy-feely,” and the students talked about him. The archdiocese made the mandated reports to authorities.
Br. Langan died in 1984.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Maryland, contact our office today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse nationwide. We can help. Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.