Born Cletus Herman Polette on January 7, 1912 in Herculaneum, Missouri, he went to the Passionist Preparatory Seminary at Normandy, Missouri in September 1928. He professed his vows on July 30, 1933 in Louisville, Kentucky. His religious name was Ernest. He was ordained there on June 7, 1941. After ordination he was sent to Normandy to be professor of Greek grammar and literature. In order to prefect his craft he studied at St. Louis University and the Jesuit Scholasticate, Florissant, Missouri. In 1949 he was assigned to be a preacher of parish missions and renewals in Sierra Madre, California. He later became retreat master there and in Citrus Heights, California as well. After two years in the retreat house ministry he returned to ministry as a preacher and lived in Houston, Texas; Detroit, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; and again at Sierra Madre. For one year he was vicar at Sierra Madre. In his early years he suffered from a hearing problem which remained with him all through his life. He flew from San Francisco to St. Louis on April 28 and while claiming his luggage at the airport he suffered a heart attack in the late evening. He died at DePaul Hospital in St. Louis county, Missouri early on April 29.
Birth Date:
January 7, 1912
Profession Date:
July 30, 1933
Ordination Date:
June 7, 1941
Death Date:
April 29, 1983