‘Holy Eagle Feather’ traveled Montana’s vast expanses to be with the people

Native Americans and other parishioners remember Bishop Brunett for his personable, down-to-earth style

BY TERRY MCGUIRE

Three-and-a-half years seems hardly enough time to get to know people, particularly when they’re spread over nearly 52,000 miles of western Montana.

But Bishop Alex J. Brunett put his time and seemingly boundless energy to good use as head of the Diocese of Helena from 1994 to 1997. A decade later, Big Sky Catholics carry fond memories of the personable shepherd in the Jeep Cherokee who traveled the vast open stretches visiting the diocese’s 90-some parishes and missions.

“He had a real commitment to doing that, visiting people in their own space, in their own church, and being known,” recalls Sister Rita McGinnis of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. “From early on…he was a mobile unit.”

The Indian reservations were among his regular stops. He became such a friend of the Blackfeet he was initiated into the tribe, receiving the name, “Holy Eagle Feather.”

Left, Bishop Brunett greets a Blackfeet chief during one of his many visits to the reservation. At right he receives a beaded miter from Blackfeet elder Gertie Heavy Runner.

“I liked (him) because he was so down to earth,” said Blackfeet elder Gertrude Heavy Runner, 84. “I liked the way he treated my people. He seemed to really fit in with our tribe.
“We weren’t afraid to talk to him,” she said. “And he was really a very spiritual person – that was another thing I liked about him. When he said Mass, he said it in such a graceful (and) spiritual way.”

Heavy Runner was among the Native American representatives who welcomed the new bishop with gifts at his consecration on July 6, 1994. She presented him with a Pendleton blanket of blue, red, yellow and white.

Later, when he was to be initiated into the Blackfeet, she came up with the name, Holy Eagle Feather. “We don’t just pick a name,” she said, describing how each name has meaning behind it. Her inspiration came one day when she was riding in a car to another community. “I happened to look out the window, and there was a big eagle sitting there on a pole by the road.”

Diocese had gone year without leader
When then-Moinsignor Brunett was appointed to lead the Diocese of Helena on April 19, 1994, the diocese had gone a year without a bishop. Father John Darragh had filled in as the diocesan administrator, “keeping shop until the new man” came.

In April 1994 then-Monsignor Brunett was named by Pope John Paul II as Bishop of Helena, Montana at the age of 60 and was ordained on July 6, 1994 in St. Helena Cathedral in a liturgy that began with a procession of local Catholic communities lasting nearly a half hour.

Now pastor of a parish in Hamilton, Mont., he recalled last month that Bishop Brunett brought much-needed skills to the task, including a “very acute business ability and a good administrative understanding.

“We’ve always had good administration prior to that,” Father Darragh said, “but he was able to deal with some issues that had to be dealt with at that time – and he did it well.”

Msgr. Kevin O’Neill, vicar for the Butte vicariate at the time, now pastor of the Cathedral of St. Helena, remembers the day their new bishop arrived in town. “He came down the steps to meet us on the sidewalk, and made a point of engaging us from day one,” the monsignor said.

As he got to know the bishop, he came to enjoy his “quick wit” and openness to dialogue. “I respect him and I appreciate so much his ministry here,” the monsignor said. “We took issue on different matters, but we were able to do so because he afforded open debate.”

Msgr. O’Neill, Father Darragh and Sister Rita all cited Bishop Brunett’s propensity for being with the people in the parishes -- no matter the driving distance -- as part of his Montana legacy. “It’s a nice breath of fresh air to see the shepherd (who) knows what’s going on in the field,” Father Darragh said, “and he definitely knew that.”

And they said the bishop’s dedication to Native Americans also is remembered today. “They had a very special place in his heart,” Msgr. O’Neill said. “He reached out to them in numerous ways and affirmed it by his presence.”

Heavy Runner said Bishop Brunett, among other visits with the Blackfeet, was a regular participant in the annual North American Indian Days celebration, held each July on the Blackfeet Reservation in the town of Browning.

And Father Darragh said the Blackfeet parish in the town of Heart Butte was rejuvenated thanks to Bishop Brunett’s resolve to replace its aging buildings with a new parish complex. “That was very important for the ministry in that area,” Father Darragh said.

Millennium celebration still remembered
In another initiative, Bishop Brunett brought the entire diocese together and connected the local church with the universal church with a pre-Jubilee Year celebration in 1997 entitled, “Crossing the Threshold to the Third Millennium,” a three-day celebration of faith centered on prayer, reconciliation and healing. Participants included Cardinal Edward I. Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, and local ecumenical leaders.

“It was huge,” said Sister Rita, diocesan director of Chancery Services and Pastoral Planning, who was director of the Pastoral Office back then.

“What (Bishop Brunett) did was expand the vision of the diocese to include the bigger church,” she said. “It was a stunning celebration.

“There was a real profound sense of connection…with the person in the pews…that the gifts of the local church could be used to further the mission of the (larger) church.”

Bishop Brunett’s roles as teacher also emerged during his three-and-a-half years in Montana. He wrote three pastoral statements to the people of the diocese: an Advent document, “The Image of Mary Honored in the Church” (1994); a pro-life piece, “Stories of Violence and Responses to It” (1995); and a Lenten piece on reconciliation and forgiveness, “Examination of Conscience: Healing Many Divisions” (1997).

In addition, he published a catechetical leadership reference book for pastors and parish catechetical leaders that is still in use today, said Jim Tucker, director of the diocese’s Catholic Formation Services Department. And, in a year-long series, he published a catechesis column on confirmation in the diocesan newspaper that was well received, Tucker said.

Bishop Brunett’s Montana tenure ended when he was appointed archbishop of Seattle on Oct. 28, 1997.

But even after moving on, he didn’t forget his first eparchy.

“He came back to do a diaconate ordination and to be there for the dedication of a new church of St. Anne in Heart Butte,” Msgr. O’Neill said. “That speaks volumes.”