Abbot appointed for troubled Swiss abbey
November 03, 2025
» Continue to this story on Vatican Press Office
CWN Editor's Note: Pope Leo XIV has appointed Father Alexandre Ineichen, CRA, the deputy prior of the Territorial Abbey of Saint-Maurice, Switzerland, as the ordinary abbot.
In recent years, the abbey—akin to a tiny diocese, with five parishes entrusted to its care—has faced serious abuse allegations. In 2024, an independent commission found “at least 67 cases of sexualized violence, mostly against minors, perpetrated by at least 30 religious” since 1960; the Swiss government, citing the allegations, took control of the abbey’s school.
In addition, Abbot Jean César Scarcella, who led the abbey from 2015 to July 2025, was accused of sexually harassing a teenager. His interim successor, Father Roland Jacquenoud, was then accused of having sexually abused an adult novice.
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