Key Takeaways
- Father Francis Santilli was publicly identified in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report on Child Sex Abuse in the Diocese of Providence.
- According to the Report, Santilli sexually abused at least three altar boys in the early 1980s, but the Diocese publicly declared the first complaint lacked “any credibility” in 2014, and kept Santilli in active ministry, including a stint on its own Review Board, for another eight years and two more complaints.
- Santilli was removed from the ministry only in 2022, after the Attorney General’s Office contacted the Diocese directly to ask about his continued status as a working pastor.
Who Was Father Francis Santilli?
Father Francis Santilli was ordained in 1980 and served as pastor of St. Philip Church in Smithfield from 2010 until his removal in 2022, a 42-year career that included a term on the Diocese’s own Review Board, the internal panel responsible for evaluating other priests’ abuse allegations.
Santilli is identified on the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report and was added to the Diocese of Providence’s List of Credibly Accused Clergy only in 2022. According to the report, he abused at least three victims, all altar boys, ages 7 to 12, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Providence and St. Charles Borromeo Church in Woonsocket in the early 1980s. (Appendix A, p. 308)
Father Francis Santilli Assignment History
According to the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Report, Santilli served at:
- 1979–1980: Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Providence (as a deacon)
- 1980–1984: St. Charles Borromeo Church, Woonsocket
- 1984–1988: St. Pius X Church, Westerly
- 1988–2004: St. Raphael Academy, Pawtucket, and St. Vincent House of Formation, Providence
- 1991–2004: St. Cecilia Church, Pawtucket
- 2004–2010: St. Paul Church, Cranston
- 2009–2012: Diocesan Review Board
- 2010–2022: St. Philip Church and School, Smithfield
- 2022: Suspended on leave
The Allegations Against Father Francis Santilli
Three separate complaints, filed a decade apart, describe the same pattern: Santilli placing boys on his lap, tickling them, and grabbing or rubbing their genitals.
- 1981: A man reported in April 2012 that Santilli abused him roughly 30 times at St. Charles Borromeo starting at age 12, escalating from tickling to grabbing his penis over and under his clothes about 15 times, sometimes paying him a few dollars afterward. He also said his brother was separately abused. When he later stopped responding to the Diocese’s calls, compliance director Robert McCarthy wrote that his “lack of cooperation” left “insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove” his complaint.
- 1980: Dennis Laprade, who authorized the Attorney General’s Office to publish his name, reported in March 2014 that Santilli abused him around age 10 at the Our Lady of Lourdes rectory, tickling him before grabbing his penis over his clothes. McCarthy corroborated Laprade’s description of Santilli using a 1981 Diocesan directory photo. Laprade also named two other boys he wondered might be victims, Scott Ross and his brother David, but the Diocese did not follow up for another seven years.
- Early 1980s: Scott Ross, who also authorized publication of his name, reported in December 2021 that Santilli abused him and his late brother David at Our Lady of Lourdes when he was seven to nine, molesting him at least 10 times in the sacristy, rectory basement, and a stairwell. David had disclosed similar abuse before he died by suicide in 1997.
In March 2014, days after a victim-advocacy group publicized the 2012 complaint, the Diocese publicly declared the allegation “carefully investigated by the Diocesan Review Board” and “deemed to lack any credibility,” calling Santilli “an exemplary pastor.”
No record of a completed Review Board review exists from that time, Santilli wasn’t even interviewed until three months later. That July, the Board unanimously found neither complaint sustained. The Diocese went on to vouch for Santilli’s fitness for ministry to the Diocese of Norwich multiple times between 2013 and 2020.
Santilli was never criminally charged.
Rhode Island State Police closed the 2012, 2014, and 2022 referrals in turn, each time because the statute of limitations had already expired. Santilli declined the Attorney General’s invitation to be interviewed in 2024.
Readers seeking additional information regarding Father Francis Santilli should review Appendix A of the Rhode Island Attorney General’s 2026 Report on Child Sexual Abuse.
Civil Litigation Against Father Francis Santilli
Scott Ross sued Bishops Gelineau and Tobin, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, and the Diocese in 2022. The case was dismissed following the Rhode Island Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Houllahan v. Gelineau, which limited the reach of the state’s revived statute of limitations.
Support for Survivors of Clergy Sexual Abuse
If you or someone you love was sexually abused by Father Francis Santilli, Andreozzi and Foote are here to help.
Recent changes to Rhode Island law have created an opportunity for survivors to pursue civil claims that may have previously been barred by the statute of limitations.
At Andreozzi + Foote, we represent survivors of clergy sexual abuse across the nation. Our team takes a trauma-informed approach to every case, ensuring survivors are heard, supported, and empowered throughout the legal process.
If you were abused by Father Santilli or another religious leader, please contact us today to learn about your legal options.
Every consultation is free and completely confidential.
📞 (866) 311-8640 📧 info@vca.law
Image sources: Father Francis Santilli, via BishopAccountability.org. St. Philip Church, 622 Putnam Pike, Greenville, RI (within the Town of Smithfield), © Google, Google Business Profile.
