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Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup

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The Diocese of Gallup (Latin: Dioecesis Gallupiensis, Spanish: Diócesis de Gallup) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in northwestern New Mexico and northeastern Arizona in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

Diocese of Gallup

Dioecesis Gallupiensis

Diócesis de Gallup
Catholic
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
Territory
Episcopal conferenceUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Ecclesiastical regionRegion XIII
Ecclesiastical provinceSanta Fe
Statistics
Area55,468 sq mi (143,660 km2)
Population
- Total
- Catholics		(as of 2006)
470,000
60,000 (12.8%)
Parishes56
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedDecember 16, 1939 (84 years ago)
CathedralSacred Heart Cathedral
Patron saintOur Lady of Guadalupe[1]
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopJames S. Wall
Metropolitan ArchbishopJohn Charles Wester
Map
Website
dioceseofgallup.org Edit this at Wikidata

The mother church of the Diocese of Gallup is the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup, New Mexico.[2] As of 2023, the bishop of Gallup is James Sean Wall.

Territory

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The Diocese of Gallup comprise the following counties:

History

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Name changes

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The current Diocese of Gallup has undergone several name changes since its territory became part of the United States.

The New Mexico counties came from:

  1. Vicariate Apostolic of New Mexico (1850 to 1853)
  2. Diocese of Santa Fe (1853 to 1875)
  3. Archdiocese of Santa Fe (1875 to 1939)
  4. Diocese of Gallup (1939 to present)[4]

The Arizona counties came from:

  1. Diocese of Santa Fe (1868 to 1891)
  2. Vicariate Apostolic of Arizona (1891 to 1897)
  3. Diocese of Tucson (1897 to 1939)
  4. Diocese of Gallup (1939 to present)[5]

1898 to 1939

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The first Catholic missionaries to the Navaho Nation were Franciscan priests who arrived there in 1898.[6] The first Catholic church in Gallup, New Mexico, was Sacred Heart Church, constructed by Reverend George Julliard in 1899.[3][7] St. Michael Indian School was opened in 1902 in St. Michael's, Arizona by Franciscans from St. Michael's Mission in Window Rock, Arizona, with financial assistance from Katharine Drexel.[8]

1939 to 2000

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Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Gallup on December 16, 1939, taking its territory from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Diocese of Tucson. The pope named Reverend Bernard T. Espelage as the first bishop of Gallup.[3][9]

During Espelage's 29-year tenure, the Catholic population of the diocese increased from 30,000 to 79,260. The number of priests went from 32 to 108 and the number of parishes from 17 to 53.[3] Espelage retired in 1969. That same year, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Phoenix, taking part of its territory from the Diocese of Gallup.[9]

The second bishop of Gallup was Bishop Jerome J. Hastrich from the Diocese of Madison, named by Pope Paul VI in 1969.[10][11] Pope John Paul II named Reverend Donald Pelotte as coadjutor archbishop in 1986 to assist Hastrich. When Hastrich retired in 1990, Pelotte automatically succeeded him as bishop of Gallup.[12] Pelotte was the first Native American Catholic bishop in the United States, an Abenaki from Maine.[13]

2000 to present

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In 2007, Pelotte suffered a traumatic brain injury at his home and was hospitalized at his home.[14] In January 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named an apostolic administrator to run the diocese while Pelotte recovered. In April 2008, Pelotte retired due to his health problems. The pope in 2009 named Monsignor James S. Wall from the Diocese of Phoenix to replace Wall as bishop of Gallup.[15]

In 2013, Wall renovated a chapel used by local seminarians with sacred art in santero, a New Mexico folk art based on Spanish colonial art. Artist Arlene Sena said that prayer was "the key to this tradition".[16] The chapel contains images of the Holy Family, James, brother of Jesus, Francis de Sales, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, two angels, and the Sacred Heart. In May 2023, Wall announced that the diocese was taking over operation of St. Michael's Mission from the Franciscans due to their inability to support it any longer.[17] Also in 2013, the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to settle the sexual abuse lawsuits against diocesan clergy.[18]

As of 2023, Wall is the current bishop of the Diocese of Gallup.

Sex abuse

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In 2004, James Burns was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually abusing a boy in Blanco, New Mexico. It was later estimated that Burns had molested several dozen boys during his career as a priest.[19] The diocese in 2005 identified Reverend Clement A. Hageman as an abuser of children from the 1940s to the 1970s. Hageman was transferred to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe from the Diocese of Corpus Christi when allegations of sexual abuse arose there. The archdiocese later moved Hageman for the same reason to the Diocese of Gallup.[20]

In 2011, several men from sued the diocese, claiming that they had been sexually abused by Hageman. They accused the church of dumping Hageman in poor parishes in the diocese to avoid scandal elsewhere. In 1940, Bishop Espelage had asked Archbishop Rudolph Gerken of Santa Fe for his opinion of Hageman. Gerken replied that Hageman “was guilty of playing with boys.” One victim reported that Hageman would bring a boy in from the playground to his office and then assault him.[21]

The diocese released a list of 42 clergy and one teacher with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors in 2014.[19]

In February 2017, it was announced that the diocese had paid more than $17.6 million to 57 victims of sexual by diocesan clergy, clearing the way for the diocese to leave bankruptcy.[22]

Bishops

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Bishops of Gallup

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  1. Bernard T. Espelage (1940–1969)
  2. Jerome J. Hastrich (1969–1990)
  3. Donald Edmond Pelotte (1990–2008)
  4. James Sean Wall (2009–present)[23]

Coadjutor bishop

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Schools

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Main article: List of schools of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup
Schools with high school divisions
Schools with former high school divisions

Arms

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Coat of arms of Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup
 
Notes
Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected
Adopted
1939
Escutcheon
The arms of the diocese are a green field with three red crosses below a silver star.
Symbolism
The green field honors the heritage of the Native American peoples in the diocese. The crosses represent Reverends Francisco Letrado, Martin de Arvide, and Pedro de Avila y Ayala, all of whom were martyred. The star represents Mary, mother of Jesus, the patroness of the diocese.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Patron Saints of the Diocese of Gallup". Diocese of Gallup. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Diocese Of Gallup In New Mexico And Arizona". Diocese of Gallup. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d "History of the Diocese of Gallup – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup". Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  4. ^ "Santa Fe (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  5. ^ "Tucson (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  6. ^ Enochs, Ross Alexander (2006). "The Franciscan Mission to the Navajos: Mission Method and Indigenous Religion, 1898-1940". The Catholic Historical Review. 92 (1): 46–73. doi:10.1353/cat.2006.0091. ISSN 1534-0708. S2CID 155079593.
  7. ^ "History". Sacred Heart Cathedral. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  8. ^ "St. Michael Indian School Leads With Catholic Faith, Navajo Culture in Educational Excellence". NCR. 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  9. ^ a b "Gallup (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  10. ^ "Jerome J. Hastrich Dies in Gallup at 80". Wisconsin State Journal. May 16, 1995. p. 5. Retrieved April 10, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  11. ^ "Former Gallup Bishop Hastrich Dies". Albuquerque Journal. May 14, 1995. p. 24. Retrieved April 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  12. ^ "Bishop Donald Edmond Pelotte [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  13. ^ "First American Indian prelate, Bishop Donald Pelotte, dies at age 64". Archdiocese of Baltimore. 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  14. ^ Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola (2007-08-04). "Bishop moved from ICU". Gallup Independent. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
  15. ^ "Bishop James Sean Wall". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  16. ^ Bunderson, Carl (10 April 2013). "Renovated New Mexico chapel to help form priests". Catholic News Agency.
  17. ^ "Navajo Catholics upset after Franciscans transfer historic mission to local diocese". www.ncronline.org. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  18. ^ "Gallup diocese becomes 9th to file for bankruptcy". CatholicCulture.org. Trinity Communications. November 12, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Diocese of Gallup Adds 31 Names to List of Priests Accused of Sexually Abusing Minors". Minneapolis Injury Law News. 2014-12-21. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  20. ^ "At Least 16 Abusers in Gallup Diocese (Part IV of Series), by Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola, Gallup Independent, May 27, 2011". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  21. ^ Frosch, Dan (2011-07-11). "Accusations of Abuse by Priest Dating to Early 1940s". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  22. ^ "Gallup diocese bankruptcy case closed, $17.6 million paid to claimants". 7 February 2017.
  23. ^ a b "Gallup (Diocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  24. ^ "School". St. Bonaventure Mission. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
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35°31′25″N 108°44′03″W / 35.52361°N 108.73417°W / 35.52361; -108.73417

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