Ernest John Primeau (September 17, 1909 – June 6, 1989) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire from 1960 to 1974.

Biography

Early life

Ernest Primeau was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

on September 17, 1909. He studied at

Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was an American seminary preparatory school administered by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago for young men considering the priesthood. Located in downtown Chicago at 103 East Chestnut Street, a ...

in Chicago. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood by Cardinal

George Mundelein George William Mundelein (July 2, 1872 – October 2, 1939) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Chicago from 1915 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1924. Early life and ministry ...

on April 7, 1934. After serving at

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and schools in the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

, he spent twelve years in Rome. On his return to Chicago, he was named

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Mundelein Seminary The University of Saint Mary of the Lake (USML) is a private Roman Catholic seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. It is the principal seminary and school of theology for the formation of priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago in Illinois. It was c ...

. In 1958, Primeau was named

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Chicago.

Bishop of Manchester

On November 27, 1959, Primeau was appointed the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Manchester by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on February 13, 1960 from Cardinal

Albert Meyer Albert Meyer may refer to: *Albert Meyer (politician) (1870–1953), member of the Swiss Federal Council, 1929–1938 * Albert Gregory Meyer (1903–1965), Archbishop of Chicago * Albert J. Meyer (economist) (1919–1983), American economist * Albe ...

, with Bishops Martin McNamara and Raymond Hillinger serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. He was installed at Cathedral of St. Joseph in Manchester on March 15, 1960. During the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

(1962-1965), Primeau was one of the more influential and articulate voices among the Council Fathers. He spoke out in support of the empowerment of the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

, once declaring, "Let this talk of their duty of subjection cease." He also founded the first foreign

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

of the diocese in 1963 in Cartago,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. During Primeau's tenure, the number of Catholics increased by 43,000 and the number of parishes by 11; however, weekly

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

attendance declined from over 70% to below 50%.

Retirement and legacy

After thirteen years as bishop, he retired on January 30, 1974 at the age of 65. He had often advocated that bishops should retire at that age and so he became the first Bishop of Manchester to resign from office. Primeau died in 1989 at age 79. In 2004 Leo Landry, a priest convicted of sexually abusing minors, described a meeting that he had with Primeau in 1967. A woman had complained to Primeau that Landry had been seen having sex with her 13 year-old son at the family's lakeside camp in

Milton, New Hampshire Milton is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,482 at the 2020 census. A manufacturing, resort and residential town, Milton includes the village of Milton Mills. The primary village in town, where 593 peop ...

. Primeau summoned Landry to a meeting, in which Landry confessed his guilt. Primeau told him to stay away from the boy and write a letter of apology to the family. According to Landry, he never wrote the letter and Primeau never reported him to authorities or removed him from ministry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primeau, Ernest John 1909 births 1989 deaths Clergy from Chicago Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Roman Catholic bishops of Manchester 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Participants in the Second Vatican Council Religious leaders from Illinois Catholics from Illinois