Chapter 4 for Diocese
Ordination of Bishop-elect Wall will be Thursday

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — Chapter four in the history of the Diocese of Gallup will begin on Thursday afternoon.

Bishop-elect James S. Wall will become the diocese’s fourth bishop in an ordination and installation Mass at 2 p.m. on Thursday at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Wall, 44, to be bishop of the Gallup Diocese on Feb. 5. With his ordination and installation, Wall will reportedly become the nation’s youngest Catholic bishop — a distinction said to be currently held by the Most Rev. Alexander K. Sample, 48, bishop of Marquette, Mich.
Wall succeeds former Bishop Donald E. Pelotte, who resigned on April 30, 2008. Bishop Bernard T. Espelage, the first bishop of the Gallup Diocese, served from 1940 to 1969. Bishop Jerome J. Hastrich, served from 1969 to 1990.

Pelotte became coadjutor bishop in 1986 and succeeded to the See in 1990.

Although he was raised in Chandler, Ariz., Wall is the first Gallup bishop to have been born locally. The son of Joan L. Wall and the late James A. Wall, he was born in Ganado, Ariz., during the time his father was a teacher and coach in Chinle, Ariz. Wall’s parents converted to the Catholic faith through their friendship with two Franciscan priests working on the Navajo Nation.

Wall graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in history, and later earned a master’s degree from St. John Seminary in Camarillo, Calif. He was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Phoenix just a little more than a decade ago on June 6, 1998.

More than a dozen current and retired bishops from around the country will attend Thursday’s ceremony, including Pelotte. Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe will be the principal consecrator. According to church officials, it takes a total of three bishops to consecrate a bishop, so Sheehan will be assisted by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, bishop of the Phoenix Diocese and the current apostolic administrator of Gallup, and Bishop Edward W. Clark, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles.

In addition to the visiting Catholic leaders, diocese officials have invited a number of local religious leaders from Gallup’s ecumenical community.

“It was important to Bishop Olmsted and Bishop-elect Wall that this be a shared experience, since the Catholic Church shares in ministry with so many different faiths,” said Communications Director Lee Lamb in an e-mail to the Independent.

After Thursday’s Mass and an ordination banquet in Farmington on Friday, Wall will hit the ground running. He will begin celebrating confirmation Masses across the diocese, including four during his first week as bishop. For the next five weeks, Wall’s schedule is packed with visits to Catholic parishes and schools to celebrate confirmations, Sunday Masses, and high school graduations.

“Installing our fourth bishop marks a change of leadership in the diocese,” Lamb said. “I think the people of our diocese are excited about the potential in Bishop-elect Wall and grateful for the leadership and pastoral care provided to us in Bishop Olmsted.”