Bishop Donald W. Trautman

Feed My Sheep

Bishop Donald Trautman arrived in Erie after having served as auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y. Unlike the end of his own tenure, which would last more than a year beyond his 75th birthday, his succession to the episcopacy was actually announced prior to Bishop Murphy’s 75th.

Providentially, the day his announcement was made public, the priests of the Diocese of Erie were enjoying their Emmaus retreat at Christ the King Seminary in Buffalo. So while the announcement caught everyone by surprise, it was compounded by the fact that their new bishop was actually rector of the seminary in which they were gathered.

Thus began the third longest tenure of any bishop of Erie to date—22 years. This stands behind only Bishop Mullen who served for 31 years, and Archbishop Gannon who served for 46.

“It’s hard to gauge the impact of such recent history,” Father Pino admits, “although we can now look back 50 years to the beginning of the Second Vatican Council and say Bishop Trautman was truly our first Vatican II bishop. It took 30 years to understand the vision and while the vision was clarified during Bishop Murphy’s reign, Bishop Trautman was in a position to implement it more fully.”

Father Pino notes Bishop Trautman’s courageous energy in bringing the church into the world as envisioned by Pope John XXIII.

Bishop Trautman's coat of arms

“He was ordained in the pre-Vatican II church,” Father Pino says, “and participated in the council in small ways. But we have taken many leaps forward because of Bishop Trautman who encouraged inclusiveness and participation of the faithful in the liturgy. He helped show people that the church is not simply an institution. It is the people and belongs to God.”

Bishop Trautman’s background as a Scripture scholar played a role in his work within the local and the national church.

“His attention to homilies, particularly those he created for confirmations, for example, always reached young people at the particular moment, time and place in the world,” says Father Pino. He also points to the renovation of St. Peter Cathedral in Erie as a crowning achievement.

“I think it’s a testament and tangible sign of how he brought the light of Vatican II to our diocese. The cathedral was a dark, gothic, solemn structure, certainly beautiful. But now it is filled with light."

Bishop Trautman passed away on February 26, 2022, at the age of 85. He remained active, presenting talks and giving retreats until the final years of his retirement, when health issues finally slowed him down. The holy card distributed at his funeral included a photo of his chalice, paired with words of encouragement he selected, including: “Today is resurrection day, a day of ‘welcome home’ to life eternal. This is our faith, the reason for our hope and the sign of his love for us.”