ENFIELD — A retired Roman Catholic bishop from Madagascar with close ties to Enfield was struck and killed as he crossed Route 4A near the La Salette shrine on Saturday afternoon.

Bishop Emeritus Joseph Donald Pelletier, 90, a missionary of Our Lady of La Salette, had just arrived in Enfield, where he expected to stay a couple of weeks to attend medical appointments at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, said the Rev. John P. Sullivan, who is the shrine director.

Sullivan said he had talked with Pelletier just moments earlier and left him in the gift shop. Pelletier was leaving the gift shop and crossing the highway to Sullivan’s residence when he was struck shortly after 5 p.m.

“He had just come that day,” Sullivan said. “I thought the two of us would be celebrating mass. We’re kind of in shock that it happened. We were looking forward to his stay here.”

Pelletier, who would have turned 91 on June 17, lived in Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa that is one of the most impoverished nations in the world.

He was born in Blackstone, Mass., and began his Catholic education in Enfield and Brewster, Mass., in his early teens in 1941. He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1956 and worked in Morondava, Madagascar.

He was ordained Bishop of Morondava by Pope John Paul II on Feb. 13, 2000, and 10 years later became Bishop Emeritus.

Sullivan said Pelletier, who was fluent in French, Italian and Malagasy, in addition to English, stopped at the site of the original shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in the French Alps on his way to New Hampshire from Madagascar.

Sullivan said the driver, who was not named in a police press release but is cooperating and not believed to have been at fault, told Sullivan she doubted Pelletier even saw her before he stepped into the road.

“She couldn’t even hit the brakes,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he was able to anoint Pelletier with holy oil and offer a prayer.

First responders arrived and began treating Pelletier but pronounced him dead at the scene.

Police say the incident is still under investigation, but there is no indication of negligence or impairment on the part of the driver, who has not been named but is said to be cooperating with the investigation.

“Based on the investigation, it appears the sun may have been a contributing factor,” Enfield Police Chief Roy Holland said on Monday.

Route 4A was shut down to traffic for more than two hours as the New Hampshire State Police Crash Accident Reconstruction Team investigated.

“It’s not uncommon to see people walking up and down on the shoulders of Route 4A,” Holland said. “It’s a very popular biking area as well.”

Sullivan said he has to be cautious crossing 4A because of the speed of traffic.

“It’s kind of a dangerous place,” Sullivan said. “Forty miles per hour is kind of fast when there are people crossing. We don’t realize how fast the cars come.”

Holland said Pelletier was crossing from the Shrine across to the housing area when he was hit in the travel portion of the roadway.

He said the Nissan pickup the woman was driving was traveling westbound on Route 4A and the initial assessment shows the vehicle to have been traveling between 35 mph and 45 mph. He said a diagnostic check of the vehicle’s computer system would give a more precise speed.

“The driver stated she was going the speed limit,” Holland said.

Authorities are asking that anyone who may have witnessed the crash to call Lt. Luke Frye at 603-632-7501

Sullivan said Pelletier was the kind of person who always left a visitor with a smile.

“He was so welcoming and approachable,” Sullivan said. “He was a very gentle, holy and humble man.

“He loved people and he loved the church. And he was loved by the people of Madagascar.”

Sullivan said his phone has been ringing nonstop with condolences from all over the world.

“They’re making great sacrifices,” he said. “I’ve been getting phone calls from people who are coming from Italy and Madagascar to be at his funeral. He makes us all proud to be from this little town. He loved this place.”

Sullivan also said even non-Catholics could learn from the way Pelletier lived his life, pointing out you don’t have to be a bishop to want to improve the world around you.

“We all have a mission to do something with our lives,” Sullivan said. “To make this world a little better. Not to get bitter about life around us, but to be hope-filled.”

There will be a wake for Pelletier at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, in Attleboro, Mass., at The National Shrine for Our Lady of LaSalette, and a funeral mass at 10 a.m., Wednesday.

A memorial mass will be held at the La Salette Shrine in Enfield at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Pelletier will be buried in the La Salette Community Cemetery, about 100 yards from where he died.

“He loved this place and often came back here,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said a “Day for Ukraine” fundraising scheduled for Saturday at LaSalette will still take place, noting Pelletier would have enjoyed the event.

Darren Marcy can be reached at dmarcy@vnews.com or 802-291-4992.

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