Father Rene Guertin (1919–1982)

Father Rene Guertin’s ministry was spent largely with children and students: twenty-three years at the St. Aloysius orphan home, teaching years at St. Xavier Academy and LaSalle Academy in Providence, a first assignment on Block Island, and eleven final years at Our Lady of Good Help in Mapleville. He is named on the Diocese of Providence’s published List of Credibly Accused Clergy and is among the 72 clergy included in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report on the Diocese (Appendix A, p. 2).

What happened to Father Guertin?

According to the Diocese of Providence’s published list, his status reads, in full: “Died 1/23/1982; Predeceased any allegation received”. That is, per the Diocese’s record, he died before any allegation was received. The Attorney General’s entry records a 1980 retirement (Appendix A, p. 155); the Attorney General’s website version of the entry prints its retirement line as “198: Retired” — an apparent typographical omission of the final digit.

The Attorney General’s Appendix A records that the allegations, in the report’s characterization, “included rape and second-degree sexual assault,” and that two further complainants separately described physical assaults and an attempted sexual assault against boys at St. Aloysius in the 1950s (Appendix A, p. 155). The first documented report of improper conduct dates to 1973, when a parish trustee reported that Guertin “reportedly lived with a young girl” in the Our Lady of Good Help rectory; the report states there is no record of any Diocesan response, and the next documented complaint surfaced in 2007, long after his death, when a woman reported repeated assaults over seven years beginning at age 10 — a complaint then-Director Robert McCarthy referred to law enforcement (Appendix A, p. 155).

The main report addresses St. Aloysius Home directly: “Two Diocesan priests, Fathers Robert McIntyre and Rene Guertin, are together alleged to have sexually abused or attempted to sexually abuse 15 children at St. Aloysius Home from the 1950s to the 1980s. Both are listed on the Diocese’s Credibly Accused List and are deceased. Neither was ever criminally charged” (Report, p. 81).

Where Father Guertin served: assignment history

The Diocese of Providence publishes the following assignment record:

Source: Diocese of Providence, individual clergy record, verified July 21, 2026; entries reproduced as published. The Attorney General’s Appendix A prints the first assignment’s location as New Shoreham where the Diocese prints Block Island, prints “St. Aloysius Home, Smithfield” where the Diocese prints “St. Aloysius Orphan Home, Greenville,” prints “La Salle Academy” where the Diocese prints “LaSalle Academy,” prints Burrillville where the Diocese prints Mapleville, and adds the retirement line noted above (Appendix A, p. 155); each is stated here as the official documents print it.

What the official lists say

The Diocese of Providence includes Rene Guertin on its List of Credibly Accused Clergy – Deceased. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s report (March 4, 2026) includes Father Rene Guertin among the 72 clergy “determined by the Attorney General to have been credibly accused of child sexual misconduct in the Diocese of Providence” (Appendix A, p. 2). He is one of the 75 names on the Diocese of Providence credibly accused list, explained.

The report’s summary of the allegations states: “Father Rene Guertin reportedly sexually abused two girls while assigned to St. Aloysius Home, an orphanage in Smithfield, in the 1960s, and a third girl beginning in 1970 when he was assigned to Our Lady of Good Help Church in Burrillville” (Appendix A, p. 155).

As the Attorney General’s report itself states, unless otherwise noted, the details in its Appendix A are allegations — not facts proven in a courtroom or admitted by the accused — and the individuals named are generally entitled to a presumption of innocence (Appendix A, p. 2). Father Guertin was never criminally charged — the main report states this expressly in its St. Aloysius Home finding (Report, p. 81); the child sexual abuse complaints documented in the Attorney General’s materials were brought to the Diocese after his death.

If you were at St. Aloysius, LaSalle or St. Xavier — or Our Lady of Good Help: the Rhode Island revival window

Rhode Island’s revival window allows civil claims for childhood sexual abuse regardless of how long ago it occurred — until June 30, 2028. His death in 1982 does not affect the right to bring a claim; claims are brought against the responsible institution:

• How Rhode Island’s revival window works
• Can you still sue if the priest has died?
• The June 30, 2028 deadline
• Who can file a claim

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Rene Guertin on the credibly accused list? Yes. He appears on the Diocese of Providence’s published List of Credibly Accused Clergy (Deceased) and in Appendix A of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report.

Was Father Guertin ever criminally charged? No. In the main report’s words concerning him and Father Robert McIntyre at St. Aloysius Home: “Neither was ever criminally charged” (Report, p. 81).

What was the St. Aloysius Home? An orphanage — the Diocese’s record prints it as the St. Aloysius Orphan Home in Greenville; the Attorney General prints St. Aloysius Home, Smithfield. The report’s finding on the institution covers 15 children from the 1950s to the 1980s (Report, p. 81).

He died in 1982 — can a claim still be filed? Yes. Under the revival window, claims may be filed until June 30, 2028, regardless of when the abuse occurred or whether the priest is living.

Confidential help

If something happened to you at St. Aloysius, LaSalle, St. Xavier, or Our Lady of Good Help, you can speak with a Rhode Island attorney confidentially, at no cost and with no obligation. You don’t need records or proof in hand to have a conversation, and you don’t need to have told anyone before. Contact Marin & Murphy Law Firm confidentially.

Other credibly accused clergy who served at these parishes

The official assignment records above overlap with those of other clergy on the official lists — the same institution of record, at any period, which is not an assertion that they served there at the same time:

• Father Armand Ventre — also served at Our Lady of Good Help Church, Mapleville
• Father William O’Connell — also served at St. Andrew Church, Block Island
• Monsignor John Allard — also served at Our Lady of Good Help Church, Mapleville

Related town records: see all verified Providence records.

Reporting resources

Anyone with information about abuse may contact the Rhode Island State Police Special Victims Unit at (401) 764-0142, the RI Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-RI-CHILD (1-800-742-4453), or the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office at (401) 274-4400.

Questions About These Records? Talk With Marin & Murphy — Confidentially

If the assignment history on this page overlaps with your own — a parish, a school, a set of years — and you want to understand what it may mean for a claim under Rhode Island’s revival window, our attorneys can review it with you. Marin & Murphy Law Firm is a Rhode Island law firm representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse under the revival window (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028). A conversation is free and confidential, nothing is filed and no one is contacted unless you decide, and there is no fee unless you recover. Call (401) 269-3381, or start with our Rhode Island clergy abuse lawyer page.

Corrections: we maintain a corrections policy for these pages, with a named contact and a 48-hour review commitment. If you believe anything on this page is inaccurate, please tell us.

Verification: every fact on this page is checked against both official sources — the Diocese of Providence’s published records and the Rhode Island Attorney General’s report — with source conflicts stated, not silently resolved. See how this database is verified.

Sources: Diocese of Providence, List of Credibly Accused Clergy and individual clergy record (verified July 21, 2026); Rhode Island Attorney General, Report on the Diocese of Providence and Appendix A (March 4, 2026). Where the two official sources differ (the Block Island/New Shoreham, Greenville/Smithfield, and Mapleville/Burrillville place names; the LaSalle/La Salle form; and the Attorney General’s retirement entries incl. the website entry’s “198: Retired” typo), both are stated with attribution. Information current as of July 21, 2026; official lists are working documents and may change.