Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup

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The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southwestern region of the United States, encompassing counties in the states of Arizona (Navajo and Apache) and New Mexico (San Juan, McKinley, Cibola, and Catron.^[1], ^[2] The motherchurch is located in the City of Gallup, New Mexico's Cathedral of the Sacred Heart ^[3].

The diocese was canonically erected on December 16, 1939, taking its territory from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, of which Gallup is a suffragan.^[4]^[5]

The diocese is currently a sede vacante. Its former bishop, the Most Reverend Donald Edmond Pelotte, was granted a one year leave of absence on January 3, 2008, to recover from a fall he suffered on July 23, 2007. Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, was appointed apostolic administrator sede plena by Pope Benedict XVI for the duration of Bishop Pelotte's absence.^[6] On April 30, 2008 the Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation from the pastoral government of the Diocese of Gallup, presented by Bishop Pelotte, in accordance with canon 401 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law.^[7] Until a new bishop of Gallup is appointed and has taken canonical possession of the Diocese, Phoenix Bishop Olmsted will continue to govern the diocese as Apostolic Administrator.