Order: SJ
Ordained: 1957
Status: Accused
Died: 04/17/2004
Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore MD
Father Francis Ernst, who served as a parish priest, teacher, and campus minister in PA, MD, and VA, was publicly named as an accused individual in the MD Attorney General’s Report released on 4/5/2023.
In 2011, a report was made to the Archdiocese of Baltimore accusing Father Francis Ernst of sexually abusing and raping a boy aged 12-14 during his assignment at St. Augustine in Elkridge MD, where he worked from 1998 to 2004. The person who reported the incident believed that other children may have been abused as well.
In September 2022, a family member of the alleged victim informed the MD Attorney General’s office that the abuse had started when the boy was only 6-7 years old, and that Ernst had kept a book of photos of naked boys. Ernst passed away in 2004.