Donald E. Pelotte
SSS (April 13, 1945 – January 7, 2010) was an American prelate of
Abenaki
The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...
descent in the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the third
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
of the
Diocese of Gallup in New Mexico from 1986 to 2008.
Pelotte was the first
Native American to be appointed a Catholic bishop in the United States.
Biography
Early life
Donald Pelotte was born on April 13, 1945, in
Waterville, Maine, to Norris Albert Pelotte and Margaret Yvonne LaBrie Pelotte. His father was
Abenaki
The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...
,
and his mother was of
French-Canadian descent. Donald and his twin brother Dana were the youngest of five brothers.
Donald Pelotte studied at Eymard Seminary in
Hyde Park,
New York during his high school years. He did his college studies
John Carroll University
John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of 3 ...
in Cleveland, Ohio and later completed doctoral studies at
Fordham University in New York City. His doctoral dissertation was entitled: ''
John Courtney Murray
John Courtney Murray (September 12, 1904 – August 16, 1967) was an American Jesuit priest and theologian, who was especially known for his efforts to reconcile Catholicism and religious pluralism, particularly focusing on the relationsh ...
, Theologian in Conflict: Roman Catholicism and the American Experience''. This was later published in book form by
Paulist
Paulists, or Paulines, is the name used for Roman Catholic orders and congregations under the patronage of Paul of Thebes the First Hermit. From the time that the abode and virtues of Paul of Thebes were revealed to Antony the Abbot, various comm ...
Press.
Priesthood
Pelotte was ordained a priest on September 2, 1972, by Bishop
Edward Cornelius O’Leary.At age 33, he became the
Provincial Superior of the
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament ( la, Congregatio Sanctissimi Sacramenti), commonly known as the Sacramentinos is a Catholic Clerical Religious Congregation of Pontifical Right for men (priests, deacons, and brothers) founded by St. ...
and was the youngest major superior of a religious community of men in the United States at the time.
Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Gallup
On February 24, 1986, Pope John Paul II named Pelotte as
coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Gallup; he was consecrated on May 6, 1986 by Archbishop
Robert Fortune Sanchez
Robert Fortune Sanchez (20 March 1934 – 20 January 2012) was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the United States.
Biography
Born in Socorro, New Mexico, he was the son of Julius Caesar Sanchez ...
.
Upon the retirement of
Jerome J. Hastrich, then Bishop of Gallup, on March 31, 1990, Pelotte automatically replaced him.
From 1986 to 2008, Pelotte also served as the episcopal moderator of the
Tekakwitha Conference The Tekakwitha Conference is a Roman Catholic institution that supports Christian ministry among Native Americans, primarily through its annual meeting.
History
The Tekakwitha Conference began in 1939, when Bishop Aloisius Joseph Muench of the Rom ...
, an association of Native American and First Nation Catholics. In 1992, Pelotte walked out of the Tekawitha annual meeting. This was in response to a dissident group within the conference that accused the Catholic Church of ignoring Native American rituals.
Pelotte is also the only known Roman Catholic bishop to have ordained his own twin brother. Pelotte ordained Father Dana F. Pelotte to the priesthood, on September 4, 1999, in Waterville.
On July 23, 2007, Pelotte suffered a
traumatic brain injury
A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...
at his Gallup home. According to chancery officials and a police report, Pelotte said that he fell down his stairs. He was hospitalized at John C. Lincoln Hospital in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
, spending some time in the intensive care unit.
On January 3, 2008,
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
appointed
Thomas J. Olmsted, the bishop of Phoenix, as
apostolic administrator ''sede plena'' of the Diocese of Gallup, and granted Pelotte a one-year
leave of absence
The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...
to continue his recovery. One year later, after seeing pictures of himself from the Emergency Department, Pelotte said he was no longer sure that his injuries were the result of a fall. This statement fueled speculation that his injuries came from being assaulted.
Retirement and legacy
On April 30, 2008,
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
Benedict XVI accepted Pelotte's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Gallup.
O December 30, 2009, Pelotte was hospitalized in Gallup in critical condition. He died on January 7, 2010. The funeral mass for Pelotte was held on January 14, 2010, at the
Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup. Per his wishes, he was buried in the
crypt of the cathedral.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelotte, Donald E.
American people of Abenaki descent
People from Waterville, Maine
20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States
1945 births
2010 deaths
Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America
John Carroll University alumni
Fordham University alumni
Writers from Maine
Writers from New Mexico
American twins
People from Hyde Park, New York
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup
Catholics from New York (state)
Catholics from Maine