The Rev. Matthew DeBlock, former principal of St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin and one-time vicar at parishes in Elgin, West Dundee and Gilberts, is being investigated for sexual misconduct with a minor while he worked at a high school in Rockford.
A news release from the Diocese of Rockford said the allegations stem from DeBlock’s time as an assistant principal at Boylan Central Catholic High School from 2012 to 2014.
He has been removed from the ministry while the investigation is conducted by civil and church authorities, the release said. No details on the nature of the accusations have been disclosed.
All of the parishes and schools at which DeBlock has worked since being ordained in 2008 have been notified of the situation, according to a statement issued by Bishop David Malloy, who oversees the Rockford diocese.
DeBlock’s first ministerial assignment was as a parochial vicar at St. Mary’s Parish in Elgin from 2008 to 2012 during which time he was also a part-time teacher and later assistant principal at St. Edward high school, a biography printed in The Observer newspaper of the Diocese of Rockford said. The article was published when DeBlock was ordained a diocesan priest in 2021.
After serving as assistant principal at Boylan high school from 2012 to 2014, DeBlock became the principal/spiritual director at St. Edward’s from 2015-2016 while also serving as a parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in West Dundee and St. Mary Parish in Gilberts from 2014 to 2015.
He served as the administrator and later the pastor of those two churches in 2015 and 2016, the biography said.
Most recently, he was the associate pastor at St. John Neumann Parish in St. Charles while serving as an associate pastor at Boylan.
Penny Wiegert, a spokeswoman for the Rockford diocese, said he also once worked at Sacred Heart Church in Marengo.
“All parishes where he was previously assigned received a letter of notification in regard to Father DeBlock and the information was also published in The Observer, the weekly Catholic newspaper for the Diocese of Rockford. Currently the matter remains under investigation,” Wiegert said.
Malloy’s statement said, “Accordingly, and in fulfillment of the commitment of the Bishops of the United States articulated in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, Father DeBlock has resigned as parochial vicar at St. John Neumann in St. Charles where he has been assigned, and he has been prohibited from engaging in ministry at St. John Neumann (or any other parish/school/diocesan entity) while this investigation is underway.
“While all persons are innocent until proven guilty, this action is necessary to fulfill our promise to protect all those in our care. We will provide updates on this matter as more information becomes available subject to our ability to do so during an ongoing investigation.”
DeBlock was born in Princeton, and attended Batavia High School, the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign, St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Nebraska, and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, his biography said.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
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