Bernard Theodore Espelage
Bernard Theodore Espelage OFM (born February 16, 1892 in Cincinnati , Ohio , † February 19, 1971 ) was an American Roman Catholic clergyman. Espelage was the first bishop of the Gallup diocese .
Life
Bernard Espelage was born in Cincinnati, the youngest of two sons to Bernard and Clara Espelage. His older brother Sylvester Joseph Espelage (1877-1940) later also became a priest and bishop. Pope Pius XI appointed him in 1925 as the first bishop of the Wuchang diocese in the People's Republic of China .
Bernard Espelage completed a denominational school and then a Franciscan seminary . He put on the habit for the first time on August 15, 1910 . A year later, on August 15, 1911, he took his religious vows . The sacrament of Holy Orders received Espelage on 16 May 1918 in Oldenburg , Indiana .
After a year as a curate in Roswell , New Mexico , Espelage was named Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in 1919. In 1926 he earned his doctorate in Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC From 1934 to 1939 he served as Rector of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe , after which he served for about a year until 1940 Chaplain at the Holy Family Church in Oldenburg.
Pope Pius XII appointed Espelage on July 20, 1940 as the first bishop of the newly founded diocese of Gallup. Archbishop John Timothy McNicholas and his co-consecrators, Bishops Joseph Albers and Joseph Elmer Ritter , donated him his episcopal ordination on October 9, 1940 .
Espelage served his diocese for 29 years. During this time he took part in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965 . The number of Catholics in his diocese rose from 30,000 at the beginning to almost 80,000 at the end. At the beginning of his term of office there were 17 parishes in his diocese, lastly there were 53.
His resignation was Espelage on August 25, 1969 by Pope Paul VI. granted. At the same time he was appointed titular bishop of the newly founded titular diocese of Penafiel .
Espelage died two years later, in February 1971, three days after his 79th birthday.
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| new office |
Bishop of Gallup 1940–1969 |
Jerome Joseph Hastrich |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Espelage, Bernard Theodore |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Espelage, Bernard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American clergyman, Bishop of Gallup |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 16, 1892 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cincinnati , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | 19th February 1971 |