George Brignac
Ordained: 1976
After Brignac’s 1976 ordination, he faced criminal charges in 1977 on accusations of sexual molestation of students at St. Matthew the Apostle, where he taught. After an acquittal, he began working at Our Lady of the Rosary School near the New Orleans neighborhood of Bayou Saint John. In 1980 and 1988, he again was arrested on molestation allegations, but prosecutors declined to press charges. After his 1988 arrest, the Archdiocese removed him from active ministry.
Despite his removal, however, he continued serving as a lector at St. Mary Magdalen in Metairie as recently as 2018. He also was active in the Knights of Columbus until 2018, among other things serving as a chaplain, a spiritual advisor role known as a “Faithful Friar,” and selecting children’s costumes for the Feat of Fatima celebration.
In December 2019, a grand jury indicted Brignac on a count of first-degree rape after his arrest on a warrant for multiple acts of accused abuse, including the rape of an altar boy at Our Lady of the Rosary in the 1970s.
According to documents filed with the police, in 1978, while teaching math at Our Lady of the Rosary and helping lead its altar boy program, Brignac met a 7-year-old altar boy. Brignac began buying the boy snacks and soft drinks and hosting him at his home and sexually abused him between the ages of seven and 12. According to the victim, Brignac allegedly abused him at home, in classrooms, or in a car at City Park.
The Archdiocese settled this victim’s civil lawsuit claims for $500,000. It also has settled claims of another victim, who alleged Brignac abused him beginning in 1982 as a seventh grader at Our Lady of the Rosary.
Brignac currently is awaiting trial on his criminal charges.
George Brignac's Assignments
| Placement | City/State | Date(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Cabrini High School | New Orleans, LA | Prior to 1976 |
| St. Matthew the Apostle School | River Ridge, LA | Prior to 1976 |
| St. John Vianney Preparatory School | Prior to 1976 | |
| Our Lady of the Rosary | New Orleans, LA | 1976 - 1988 |
| St. Louise de Marillac School | Arabi, LA | Unknown |