A Bankrupt Diocese Sells Its Headquarters for $3.13 Million to Pay Abuse Survivors

• The Diocese of Burlington sold its South Burlington headquarters for US$3.13 million
• The sale was approved by a US bankruptcy judge
• More than 100 survivors have filed abuse claims against the diocese
• Staff are moving to a Catholic college campus

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington won court approval to sell its headquarters as part of its bankruptcy, Vermont Public reported on 18 June 2026. A US Bankruptcy Court judge signed off on the sale of the two-acre property at 55 Joy Drive in South Burlington for US$3.13 million to Northeast Territories, LLC, a Vermont commercial real estate company.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy in 2024 to resolve claims of sexual abuse, and more than 100 survivors have since filed claims. When it filed, it reported about US$35 million in assets, not counting parish property held in separate trusts. Its legal bills have passed US$2 million.

The headquarters is not the first property to go. The diocese earlier sold a former senior-living facility in Rutland to a housing nonprofit for US$1 million.

With the head office sold, administrative staff are moving to St Joseph Hall at St Michael’s College in Colchester, with some working from St John Vianney Parish in South Burlington. Bishop John McDermott said the diocese would “move a majority of its administrative staff” to the college campus, with the move scheduled for the week of 13 July.

Vermont is one of a growing number of American dioceses selling real estate to meet abuse settlements, turning offices, retreat houses and schools into cash. For Jamaican Catholics at home and in the diaspora, the pattern is worth watching. Church land and buildings are often thought of as permanent, but in law they are assets like any other, and when liabilities come due they can be sold. Knowing how church property is held, whether in diocesan names or separate parish trusts, can make the difference to what a congregation keeps.

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