Gallup Bishop Pelotte injured

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Bishop Donald Pelotte of the Diocese of Gallup is in an intensive care unit in a Phoenix hospital after an accident in his Gallup home that left him with serious head injuries.

Pelotte, 62, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Gallup, was airlifted on Monday to the John C. Lincoln Hospital in Phoenix, said Deacon James P. Hoy, the director of budget and finance for the diocese.

Contacted by telephone this morning, Hoy said he believes Pelotte is scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday. Hoy apologized for not having more information, but said he was also waiting to learn more specific details as to the bishop's condition, the nature of his injuries, and information about upcoming surgery.

Deacon Timoteo Lujan, the chancellor for the diocese and Pelotte's usual spokesman, is with Pelotte in Phoenix.

"He apparently fell in his home,"said Hoy of Pelotte."We have no idea when the fall happened."

Hoy said chancery officials became concerned when Pelotte failed to show up on Monday morning for his regular work schedule. Lujan then drove to Pelotte's house, Hoy said, discovered the injured bishop, and then transported him to the Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital in Gallup.

Pelotte was then airlifted to Phoenix later that day.

Tess Dumlao, a public information officer at John C. Lincoln Hospital, said Pelotte's condition this morning was serious but stable.

Hoy asked for prayers for Pelotte, his family, and the people of the diocese. Cards for Pelotte can be mailed in care of the Diocese of Gallup, he said. The mailing address is P.O. Box 1338, Gallup, N.M. 87305.

Originally from Maine of Abenaki and French-Canadian descent, Pelotte was ordained as a priest in 1972. He was appointed coadjutor bishop of Gallup in 1986 by Pope John Paul II. With the retirement of Bishop Jerome Hastrich, Pelotte became the third bishop of Gallup in 1990. His twin brother, Dana Pelotte, is also a Catholic priest.

The Diocese of Gallup is a sprawling rural diocese that spans much of western New Mexico and northeastern Arizona, including the Navajo Reservation.