Fr. Melvin (Mel) Bucher, O.F.M.
Ordained: 1961
Assignments:
- 1963-1964: St. Francis Seminary, Troutdale, OR
- 1964-1968: Serra Catholic High School, Salem, OR
- 1968-1970: St. Anthony’s, Tigard, OR
- 1971-1972: Unknown
- 1972-1973: St. Anne’s, Spokane, WA
- 1973-1976: St. Elizabeth’s High School, Oakland, CA (OAK)
- 1976-1977: Franciscan Fathers Provincial House, Oakland, CA; Pre-Novitiate Formation, Hayward, CA
- 1977-1988: St. Francis of Assisi, Sacramento, CA
- 1988-1994: St. Anthony’s, Tigard, OR
- 1995-2001: Mission San Luis Rey Retreat Center, San Luis Rey/Oceanside, CA
- 1995-2005: Mission San Luis Rey, San Luis Rey/Oceanside, CA
- 2003-2005: Mission San Luis Rey Retreat Center, San Luis Rey/Oceanside, CA
- 2005-2006: Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA; Mission San Luis Rey Retreat, Oceanside, CA
- 2006-2010: Mission San Luis Rey; Retired
- 2010-2017: Franciscan Friars of California
Notes: Fr. Melvin Bucher was a Franciscan friar who worked in California, Oregon, and Washington. Multiple survivors have come forward alleging child sexual abuse by Fr. Bucher while he worked in various parishes on the west coast during the 1970s. In 1993, Fr. Bucher failed a lie detector test regarding having sex with minors and Fr. Bucher has reportedly admitted to sexually abusing minors in the 1960s. In 1994, Fr. Bucher was named in a lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse while he worked at St, Anthony’s in Tigard. The lawsuit did not settle until right before trial in 2001, during which Fr. Bucher was allowed to remain at his post. Fr. Bucher has been named in multiple civil lawsuits. It is reported that in 1994 he left the Archdiocese of Portland and was living in Mission San Luis Rey Retreat Center in Oceanside in 1995. Fr. Bucher’s current whereabouts, his status as a priest, and whether he has access to children are unknown.