A former Wisconsin priest has been charged with bail jumping and new sexual offenses against minors, the Diocese of Madison has confirmed. Andrew Showers was arrested Aug. 20 for attempted grooming of a child and violation of the conditions of his bail almost exactly one year after his initial arrest.
Andrew Showers at the time of his initial arrest in 2025.
A statement from the Madison diocese, released Friday, called “the allegations of attempted grooming of a child for sexual activity and bail jumping[...] incredibly disturbing.”
“Similar to the charges filed in Waupaca County in August of 2025, the new criminal complaint is connected to an online undercover investigation conducted by a police officer posing as a 15-year-old girl,” said the statement. “A warrant was issued for Showers’ arrest, and, after turning himself in, he was taken into police custody earlier today.”
The diocese also stated that Showers was dispensed from the clerical state by Pope Leo XIV in June of this year. He had been barred by the diocese from public ministry since his initial arrest last summer.
“We are appalled and deeply distressed by these additional charges and continue to pray for anyone affected by this profoundly troubling situation,” said the diocese.
Andrew Showers, 38, was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Madison in 2017 and served in a variety of assignments in the diocese, including at a local Catholic school, and as diocesan director of liturgy. On August 27 last year, Showers was charged with attempted child enticement, attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, and attempted use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime against a child. Prosecutors charge that the priest sent lewd pictures of himself and sexually explicit messages to an individual on Reddit whom he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover police officer.
He was arrested August 25 last year, when he attempted to meet up with the teen for a sexual encounter, according to the criminal complaint. Showers faces up to 50 years in prison if he is found guilty. Immediately following his arrest, Madison’s Bishop Donald Hying announced that Showers was “completely restricted from all exercise of public ministry while the investigation is ongoing.”
In June 2026, Bishop Hying released an update on Showers’ canonical status, saying that the priest had voluntarily petitioned Pope Leo for dispensation from the clerical state and that although the civil and legal proceedings had not yet concluded, “Showers petitioned the Vatican for a dispensation from the obligations associated with the clerical state, and that petition was granted by Pope Leo XIV.”
A petition to the pope personally for dispensation from the rights and obligations of the clerical state is distinct from dismissal, although they have the same effects. A dismissal is the result of a canonical process initiated by a competent authority in either a judicial or administrative process. A dispensation made by the pope at the cleric’s petition is, legally speaking, a favor, and is often sought by clerics otherwise facing laicization via a canonical process.
Following Showers’ arrest in 2025, a young woman and her father accused the diocese of failing to act previously on an allegation against Showers.
But the diocese said that while a complaint was made the previous year, the person who contacted the diocese had declined to share essential details about the alleged assault, including the priest’s identity, making it impossible for the diocese to assess or respond to the allegations.
After Showers’ initial arrest, BIshop Hying said that “There have been no previous allegations of misconduct connected to Fr. Showers.” Two days later, however, the bishop said that “continued review of diocesan files, email messages, and phone records” showed that there had been a complaint made about Showers in 2021, but it was determined that Showers had not committed misconduct in that case.
The diocese elaborated on the 2021 incident in a September 5 statement. It said the complaint was made by the parent of a middle school boy who said Showers had asked him about sexual sins during confession, making him uncomfortable. Diocesan officials determined that the Showers was attempting to guide the teen’s confession by asking questions about sins that may be common to a specific age group, the diocese stated.
A report was filed at the time with the Lodi police, who determined that the incident was not a criminal act, the diocese said. It cited excerpts from the police report, which noted that the teen said Showers had also asked him about whether he had committed theft, and had not touched him or made any other sexually suggestive comments.