Father John Mittelstadt at St. Mary's Mission

MY SHORT BIOGRAPHY --

It was a sad beginning for the month of April 2011. Instead of coming as Father John’s assistant, I arrived for his funeral at the Cathedral in Gallup, New Mexico and end up taking his place as “Pastor.” The Lord called Father John Mittelstadt OFM to Himself on March 28, 2011 at age 74. We are grieving the loss of a wonderful Franciscan priest who loved so many people and did so much for the Navajo People at St. Mary’s Mission and outside the Church, too.

I am presently the Administrator of St. Mary Mission. Let me tell you a little about myself: For the last seven and one-half years I served as a hospital chaplain at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico and at Christus St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I am from a family of two brothers and four sisters, being the second oldest. My Dad was in the US Air Force, and we traveled all around the globe, including Greenland, Hawaii, Okinawa and lots of states in the USA. That makes me an “Air Force Brat” – the affectionate term used by the airmen towards us children. My Dad retired in Tucson, Arizona from the Air Force after 30 years of service. That was home for my Mother & Dad and family for 37 more years until recently, when my Dad passed away on September 15, 2011 at the age of 91.

I entered the Franciscan Order in Cincinnati, Ohio in September 1971. Three years later I arrived on the Navajo Reservation at St. Michael’s Mission in St. Michaels, Arizona as a Franciscan brother. I managed the Print Shop and printed the little mission magazine called The Padres’ Trail. Father John was the editor of the magazine at this time, and we worked together as a team. For two years, I lived with Father John at Fort Defiance, Arizona.

During my 15 years as a Franciscan brother, I felt a call to the Permanent Diaconate as a friar. I went to Denver, Colorado to study in the Deacon Program there, and ended up finishing college at Regis University and studying for the priesthood at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary.

I was ordained a Franciscan priest on December 9, 1994 – the Feast of St. Juan Diego – by Bishop Donald Pelotte of the Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico. My first assignment as a Franciscan priest was in Chinle, Arizona. I took care of St. Anthony Church in Many Farms, Arizona. The Navajo people have always been so welcoming. Their prayers, rituals and ceremonies have a special place in my heart.

From Chinle, I returned to St. Michaels for one year, then to Albuquerque, NM in the year 2000 to our Provincial Motherhouse. A year later, I was appointed Administrator of Queen of Angels Chapel on 12th Street & Indian School Road. We had a lot of different tribes coming to worship at the chapel. The official Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is located in this chapel.

I am 64 years old (I look young for my age). I always had the desire to return one day to the Navajo Reservation. This day is here! Let us keep our beloved Father John in our prayers each day.

Dighin Ayúit’éii nihil dahólóodoo! (“The Lord be with all of you!”)

Peace & All Good!

Fr. Pio O’Connor, OFM