Father John Engbers
Diocese of Lafayette
Ordained: 1949
Removed from ministry: 1985
Died: 1989
Assigned as follows:
- 1949-1953: Immaculate Conception (Lake Charles, LA)
- 1949-1952: St. Hubert’s Church (Goosport, LA)
- 1949-1953: St. Henry (Eastdale, LA)
- 1953-1954: Our Lady of the Lake (Lake Arthur, LA)
- 1953-1954: Little Flower (Shell Beach, LA)
- 1953-1954: St. Gertrude (Andrus Cove, LA)
- 1954-1956: St. Anthony of Padua (Eunice, LA)
- 1954-1956: St. Catherine’s (Durald, LA)
- 1954-1956: St. Agnes (Eunice, LA)
- 1956-1968: St. Helen’s (Louisa, LA)
- 1956-1968: Our Mother of Mercy (Weeks Island, LA)
- 1956-1961: St. Joan of Arc (Glencoe, LA)
- 1968-1977: St. Peter Catholic Church (Gueydan, LA)
- 1968-1977: St. David (Marceaux, LA)
- 1977-1980: St. John the Evangelist (Mermentau, LA)
- 1977-1980: St. Margaret Catholic Church (Estherwood, LA)
- 1980-1985: Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Leroy, LA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. John Engbers:
Fr. John Engbers was ordained a priest in 1949, and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Lafayette. According to media reports, in a 1985 lawsuit, Fr. Engbers is accused of having sexually molested two sisters ages three and seven when he was assigned to Immaculate Conception in Lake Charles, LA. The parents reportedly confronted the priest, and he was moved to another church. The lawsuit was settled in 2001.
In another lawsuit filed in 1985, Fr. Engbers is accused of child sexual abuse in the 1950’s-60’s while he was assigned to St. Helen’s in Louisa, LA. Engbers allegedly began sexually abusing five sisters when their family sought refuge at the rectory of St. Helen’s after their home was destroyed by Hurricane Audrey. One sister alleges that Engbers began molesting her in 1957 when she was 7 years old. The sisters claim that Engbers repeatedly molested them over several years until they were adults and that they notified church officials, but nothing was ever done. In 1985, Engbers was removed from the ministry after the church learned of the lawsuits. He fled to Holland after his removal.
In 1989, another lawsuit was filed against Fr. Engbers. This suit alleges that Engbers molested a 3–4-year-old girl in the early 1970’s in Gueydan, LA. The suit was settled in 1996.
Father John Engbers was publicly named in April 2019 on the Diocese of Lafayette’s disclosure list of “diocesan clergy against whom credible allegations have been made regarding sexual abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult.”
He died in 1989.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Louisiana, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Lafayette may now have legal options, 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 Louisiana and nationwide. We can help.
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