Fr. William C. Wehrle, S.J.: Accused of Child Sexual Abuse

Fr. William C. Wehrle, S.J.

Ordained: 1950

Assignments within the Archdiocese/Diocese(s) in Colorado: Denver

Assignments:

  • 1950-1951: Sacred Heart, Woodstock, MD (BAL)
  • 1951-1952: Our Lady of Martyrs, Auriesville, NY (ALB)
  • 1952-1957: Immaculate Conception, Mechanicsville, MD (WDC); Our Lady of the Wayside, Chaptico, MD (WDC); Holy Angels, Avenue, MD (WDC); Sacred Heart, Bushwood, MD (WDC); St. Joseph’s, Morganza, MD (WDC)
  • 1957-1960: Immaculate Conception, Mechanicsville, MD (WDC); Our Lady of the Wayside, Chaptico, MD (WDC)
  • 1960-1966: St. Ignatius, Hilltop, MD (WDC); Sacred Heart, La Pata, MD (BAL); St. Catherine of Alexandria, McConchie, MD (WDC)
  • 1966-1971: Holy Trinity, Washington, D.C. (WDC)
  • 1971-1972: Jesuit Residence, Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
  • 1972-1973: Pittsburgh Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
  • 1973-1974: Creighton University, Omaha, NE (OM); St. Joseph Hospital, Omaha, NE (OM)
  • 1974-1976: St. Louis, Denver, CO (DEN)
  • 1976-1980: St. Therese, Aurora, CO (DEN)
  • 1980-1981: St. James, Denver, CO (DEN)
  • 1981-1982: Unknown
  • 1982-1985: St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, Woodstock, MD; Good Samaritan Hospital, Baltimore, MD (BAL)
  • 1986-1993: SS. Peter and Paul, Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
  • 1992-1995: Jesuit Community at Corpus Christi Pastoral Center, Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
  • 1993-1995: St. Charles Lwanga, Pittsburgh, PA (PIT)
  • 1995: Died

Fr. William Wehrle, was ordained a priest of the Society of Jesus. Fr. Wehrle was reportedly assigned to Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland and Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. prior to his ordination. Church files reveal Fr. Wehrle was accused of child sexual abuse in the mid-1980s. Following the allegation, Fr. Wehrle was reportedly removed from his assignment at St. Alphonsus in Woodstock, Maryland. Multiple allegations of child sexual abuse have been made against Fr. Wehrle in Maryland, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. beginning as early as the 1960s. Fr. Wehrle is listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s 2002 “List of Priests and Brothers Accused of Child Sex Abuse.” Fr. Wehrle is also listed on the Jesuits’ Maryland Province’s 2018 list of “Jesuits with an allegation of an offense against a minor (anyone under the age of 18) that could not be fully investigated to determine credibility, but for which there is a reasonable possibility (semblance of truth) that the alleged offense occurred.”