Scores turn out to honor
former Bishop Pelotte
Bishop Donald E. Pelotte says the prayer of the Eucharist during a Mass held in his honor Monday, September 15 at Sacred Heart Cathedral. — © 2008 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — Although Bishop Donald E. Pelotte retired from the Diocese of Gallup almost five months ago, hundreds of Catholics attended a Mass of Thanksgiving on Monday evening in Pelotte’s honor.

Sacred Heart Cathedral was filled to capacity by a crowd of priests, deacons, members of religious communities, and Catholic laypeople from across the Gallup Diocese. The crowd gave Pelotte several standing ovations during the ceremony, which ran nearly two hours.

A small crowd of special guests — mostly retired bishops and directors of Catholic organizations that Pelotte has been associated with — were in attendance. Among the visitors was Pelotte’s twin brother, the Rev. Dana Pelotte, a fellow member of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, whom Pelotte ordained as a priest in 1999.
Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, the current apostolic administrator for the Gallup Diocese, offered the opening welcoming remarks. Olmsted, who occupied the seat reserved for the presiding bishop, was in the unique position Monday evening of celebrating Mass with two men he has replaced — retired Bishop Thomas J. O’Brien of Phoenix and Pelotte of Gallup.

Pelotte sat in a special chair that was placed in the middle of the altar area, near the tabernacle. A banner with his coat-of-arms and motto, “Strength One Another,” hung on a wall near the altar. Pelotte took an active role throughout the Mass, from making introductory remarks, to presiding over the celebration of the Eucharist, to offering concluding comments. He looked and sounded healthy despite his reported medical problems since he was discovered seriously injured nearly 14 months ago.

Pelotte appeared to enjoy the ceremony, and showed flashes of humor throughout the evening. Joking about his newly retired status, he glanced at the visiting group of retired bishops and quipped, “I feel very much at home with all these retired bishops.”

Pelotte’s close friend, Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of the Diocese of Las Cruces, delivered the homily. A humorous speaker, Ramirez entertained his audience with a number of amusing stories about Pelotte. Referring to the Gospel reading’s theme of Christ as “the good shepherd,” Ramirez also shared a number of more serious comments in which he compared Pelotte to a caring shepherd.

Other common themes were raised by Ramirez and subsequent speakers. Several speakers talked about Pelotte being the first bishop of Native ancestry, his support of Native American communities and issues, and his support for the changes within the Catholic Church brought about by Vatican II.

In response to substance abuse issues, Ramirez credited Pelotte with leading the charge in Gallup against drive-up window sales of alcohol and liquor sales on Sunday. The Rev. Kevin Finnegan added that Pelotte helped clean up the streets of Gallup from the plague of alcoholism.

In his own concluding remarks, Pelotte said he was grateful and thankful for the “good and sometimes difficult ministry” he has had in the Diocese of Gallup.

“I’m not leaving Gallup,” Pelotte said, explaining that he was planning to continue to live here and have a ministry. “So, you’ll be seeing me around,” he added.

With his new title of Bishop Emeritus of Gallup, Pelotte left the Mass surrounded by his special guests and the priests of the diocese and headed for a public reception in his honor. Bishop Olmsted followed, carrying the crosier of the Diocese of Gallup.