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Father
Gregoire J. Fluet, the son of Paul Fluet and Dorothy (Gregoire) Fluet,
was born in Thetford Mines,
in the province of Québec,
Canada,
on August 27, 1955.
He was baptized the next day in the parish church
of Saint Alphonse, the same
church that had seen the baptism of his mother and grandfather. In
1959, the Fluet family and Father’s maternal grandmother, Catherine
Gregoire, moved to Haverhill, Massachusetts.
There he attended Saint James
School.
In
1969, the Fluet family moved to North Hampton,
New Hampshire. From then until
1973, Father Fluet attended high school at LaSalette Preparatory School
in Enfield, New Hampshire, where most of the teachers were priests of the
Missionaries of our Lady of LaSalette. The choice helped to
solidify Father’s growing interest in the priesthood.
Upon
graduation from high school, Father attended Assumption
College in Worcester,
Massachusetts for one year. At
first he thought seriously of becoming a Missionary of our Lady of
LaSalette, but it did not seem that God wanted him there. Instead,
an extraordinary opportunity arose that allowed Father Fluet to study at
the International Seminary in Valais, Switzerland.
There the groundwork was firmly placed for Father’s priestly vocation,
and he took definitive steps in that direction. That year also made
a strong and positive impact on the young student, who also began to show
a significant aptitude for academic work.
In
1976 Father continued his studies at Holy
Apostles College
in Cromwell, Connecticut.
There Bishop Daniel Reilly saw him as an exceptional candidate to study
to be a priest of the Diocese of Norwich. Father Fluet graduated from Holy
Apostles College
with a B.A. in philosophy, magna cum laude, in 1978. He was then
assigned to continue his studies for the priesthood at Saint John
Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts.
A very difficult moment came when his father, Paul Fluet, died on November 23, 1980, the year
and a half before Father’s ordination..
On
May 22, 1982, Father
Fluet was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Daniel Reilly in St.
Patrick Cathedral in Norwich.
At about the same time, he received a Master of Divinity degree from
Saint John Seminary, but he had already begun to work on an M.A. degree
in Theology with an emphasis on Church History. That second degree
would be awarded in 1986.
Father
Fluet’s first diocesan assignment was as a curate at St. Joseph Parish in
North Grosvenordale, Connecticut.
There he assisted the parish in all aspects of priestly ministry and even
taught a few classes in the parish school. In 1983 Mrs. Dorothy
Fluet moved from North Hampton, New
Hampshire, to Putnam,
Connecticut to be closer to her
son. That same year, the Town of Thompson Board of Selectmen cited
Father Fluet for outstanding humanitarian service to the town during a
crisis involving a fire and loss of life.
In
1984 Father Fluet was transferred to Saint Bernard High School in
Uncasville. He would remain there until 1989 and served both as a
teacher and as Chaplain of the school. In 1989 he returned to Saint
Joseph Parish in North Grosvenordale, this time as
its pastor.
While
there, Bishop Reilly assigned him to undertake the Latin Mass Apostolate
for those Roman Catholics who preferred that ancient form of Holy Mass,
and granted him the indult required to offer Mass in that usage.
At
about the same time, and always the scholar, Father Fluet was accepted
into the American History postgraduate studies program at Clark
University in Worcester,
Massachusetts. In 1994 he
completed a third Master of Arts degree in that discipline. In
1997, as he celebrated 15 years of priestly
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service,
Father was given a sabbatical leave as pastor and was allowed to continue
his studies at Clark University
on the doctoral level. During that period he also became an adjunct
faculty member at Quinebaug Community
College in Danielson, where he taught
Western Civilization and World History. Ever the priest, Father
Fluet continued to celebrate Mass throughout the Diocese during that time
and continued to celebrate the 1962 Tridentine Mass every Sunday in Putnam,
Connecticut, as the indult Mass of
the Diocese of Norwich.
In
1998 Father Fluet was appointed pastor of Saint Bridget of Kildare
Church in Moodus. His
mother chose to come live with her only son at the rectory. One of his
first undertakings there was to begin the renovation of the Old St.
Bridget Church, a monumental project that is a testament to Father
Fluet’s commitment to preserving the history that the structure
represents to the people of Moodus and the surrounding communities.
Today the project has been largely completed. Father Fluet has
brought that project to fruition without incurring any additional parish
debt and while simultaneously insuring the financial soundness and
spiritual growth of our entire parish family.
On
May 19, 2002, having completed his doctoral dissertation, Father Fluet
was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in American History from Clark
University. Shortly
thereafter Saint Bridget of Kildare parish joined in a gala celebration
of this momentous event while simultaneously celebrating the 20th
anniversary of Father’s ordination. After completing his doctoral
work, Father Fluet was promptly asked to “put the degree to work” by
writing a book on the history of the Diocese of Norwich (which was then
preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary as a
Diocese). In response to that request, he published Responding
to His Call, A Celebration of the History of the Diocese of Norwich
in 2003. Upon his installation as the new Bishop of the Diocese of
Norwich in 2003, Bishop Michael R. Cote immediately recognized some of
Father Fluet’s additional talents and placed them at the service of the
Church as well. Father Fluet was appointed Archivist of the Diocese
of Norwich and, while he was able to do some important work on organizing
the archives of the Diocese, that work had to be put aside when Bishop
Cote, as Chancellor of the only Seminary and Catholic College in the
Diocese, next named Father Fluet to be the Vice President of Holy
Apostles College and Seminary. Subsequently, the Bishop also
appointed Father Fluet to the Presbyterial Council of the Diocese.
In 2005, at the recommendation of Bishop Cote, Father Fluet was named as
a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre and his mother was named as a Lady of the
Holy Sepulchre, honors bestowed by the Vatican
itself. The installation ceremony took place at Saint Patrick’s
Cathedral in New York City,
with Cardinal Egan officially bestowing those honors upon Father Fluet
and his mother.
Most
recently, at the request of Brother William, CFX, Headmaster of Xavier
High School in Middletown,
Father Fluet was named to the Board of Trustees of the high school and
appointed a member of its Academic Committee. The Bishop has also
appointed Father Fluet as Vicar Forane, or Dean, of the Old Saybrook
deanery.
On
May 6, 2007, hundreds of parishioners, family and friends joined with
Father Fluet as he offered a Solemn High Tridentine Mass of thanksgiving
celebrating the 25th anniversary of his ordination, followed
by a wonderful reception on the grounds of Saint Bridget of Kildare
Parish during which so very many people expressed their love and
gratitude for Father Fluet’s wise guidance and gentle pastorship.
His accomplishments have been many. May God continue to bless him
in the years to come.
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