This page concerns Louis Dunn (Monsignor Louis Dunn, also “Father Louis Dunn”), born December 19, 1920, ordained May 31, 1947, a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence who died April 18, 2001. It does not refer to any other person of the same or similar name. Assignments are reproduced from the Diocese’s records and the Attorney General’s report — see how this database is verified.
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Monsignor Louis Dunn spent much of his career at the administrative center of the Diocese of Providence — Assistant Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Vicar for Religious, and six years at the Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul — alongside parish and campus assignments in Wickford, Warwick, West Warwick, Hope Valley, Kingston, and Providence, including the University of Rhode Island. 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 Monsignor Dunn?
According to the Diocese of Providence’s published list, he was removed from ministry on March 24, 1994 and died on April 18, 2001. The Attorney General’s report records the sequence as suspension in April 1994 followed by retirement on June 24, 1994 (Appendix A, p. 110).
Monsignor Dunn’s case ended in a criminal conviction. According to the Attorney General’s report, he was indicted in March 1996 and, in June 1997, was convicted — after a bench trial — of first-degree sexual assault of a 21-year-old woman, an assault that occurred in June 1982. In December 1999 he received a ten-year suspended sentence with probation, and he remained confined to a nursing home until his death in April 2001. The report notes that despite the conviction, it does not appear the Diocese ever took steps to laicize him (Appendix A, p. 110–111).
The report also documents how early the Diocese was told. In 1967, the father of a University of Rhode Island freshman whom Dunn had reportedly sexually assaulted complained to the Diocese; in a later sworn account he said he “asked for personal help and for action that Dunn be removed as a threat to young girls. My efforts fell on deaf ears.” Rather than investigate or notify law enforcement, the report states, Bishop Russell McVinney transferred Dunn that year to St. Thomas Church in Providence, where he was accused of sexually assaulting several more women (Report, pp. 120–21).
Where Monsignor Dunn served: assignment history
The Diocese of Providence publishes the following assignment record:
| Assignment | Location | Years |
|---|---|---|
| St. Bernard Church | Wickford, RI | 1947 |
| St. Benedict Church | Warwick, RI | 1947 |
| St. Mary Church | West Warwick, RI | 1947–1948 |
| Appollinaris Seminary, Lateran University | Rome, Italy | 1948–1950 |
| Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul | Providence, RI | 1950–1956 |
| Assistant Chancellor, Diocese of Providence | Providence, RI | 1950–1952 |
| Vice Chancellor, Diocese of Providence | Providence, RI | 1952–1953 |
| Vicar for Religious, Diocese of Providence | Providence, RI | 1953–1956 |
| Mother of Hope Novitiate | Warwick, RI | 1956–1964 |
| St. Joseph Church | Hope Valley, RI | 1963 |
| Christ the King Church | Kingston, RI | 1964–1967 |
| University of Rhode Island | Kingston, RI | 1964–1967 |
| Diocesan Tribunal | Providence, RI | 1966–1967 |
| St Thomas Church | Providence, RI | 1967–1974 |
Source: Diocese of Providence, individual clergy record, verified July 7, 2026; entries reproduced as published, including spelling quirks. The Attorney General’s Appendix A publishes a materially longer history for the same man — it records the Diocesan Tribunal role as 1964–1994 and St. Thomas Church as 1967–1994, uses town names (Hopkinton; South Kingstown), and adds the April 1994 suspension, June 1994 retirement, and a 1997 residence entry (Appendix A, p. 110).
What the official lists say
The Diocese of Providence includes Louis Dunn on its List of Credibly Accused Clergy – Deceased, with the status: “Removed from Ministry 3/24/1994; Died 4/18/2001”. The Rhode Island Attorney General’s report (March 4, 2026) includes Monsignor Louis Dunn 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: “Monsignor Louis Dunn was accused of sexually assaulting at least five girls and young women during his tenure as a Diocesan priest,” describing “a pattern of abuse” that “involved pursuing relationships with vulnerable females beginning when they were younger than 18 years old and continuing into their early 20s” (Appendix A, p. 110).
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. Monsignor Dunn’s June 1997 conviction, which involved an adult victim, is an exception established by court record (Appendix A, p. 2; Appendix A, p. 111).
If you were at the Cathedral, URI, or these parishes: the Rhode Island revival window
Rhode Island’s revival window allows civil claims for childhood sexual abuse regardless of how long ago it occurred — including abuse from the 1950s and 1960s — until June 30, 2028. His death in 2001 does not bar 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
- Rhode Island’s childhood sexual abuse statute of limitations
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Louis Dunn on the credibly accused list? Yes. He appears on the Diocese of Providence’s published List of Credibly Accused Clergy (Deceased) and, as Monsignor Louis Dunn, in Appendix A of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 report.
Was Monsignor Dunn convicted? Yes. According to the Attorney General’s report, he was convicted in June 1997, after a bench trial, of first-degree sexual assault of a 21-year-old woman, and received a ten-year suspended sentence with probation in December 1999.
When was he removed from ministry? The Diocese’s published status is “Removed from Ministry 3/24/1994”; the Attorney General’s report records his April 1994 suspension and June 24, 1994 retirement.
If it happened over 50 years ago — is it too late? No. The revival window exists precisely for claims the old statute of limitations barred. Any qualifying claim may be filed until June 30, 2028, no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.
Confidential help
If something happened to you at one of these parishes or at URI, you can speak with a Rhode Island attorney confidentially, at no cost and with no obligation. 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 Edmund Fitzgerald — also served at St. Mary Church, West Warwick (+1 more shared)
- Father Edmund Micarelli — also served at Cathedral of SS Peter & Paul, Providence (+1 more shared)
- Father Samuel Turillo — also served at St. Benedict Church, Warwick (+1 more shared)
- Father Charles Dolan — also served at St. Bernard Church, Wickford
Related town records: see all verified Providence records and Warwick records, plus West Warwick 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 7, 2026); Rhode Island Attorney General, Report on the Diocese of Providence and Appendix A (March 4, 2026). Where the two official sources differ (status characterization; assignment end years; place names), both are stated with attribution. Information current as of July 7, 2026; official lists are working documents and may change.