John Bertram Peterson

John Bertram Peterson (July 15, 1871 – March 15, 1944) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Manchester in New Hampshire from 1932 until his death in 1944. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts from 1927 to 1932

Biography Early life Peterson was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to a Scandinavian sea captain and an Irish mother. He attended a commercial college in Boston and then worked at Pope Manufacturing Company; he also served as a newspaper reporter.

After deciding to join the priesthood, Peterson entered Marist College in Van Buren, Maine. He then studied at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, from 1893 to 1895 and then entered St. John's Seminary in Boston. After two years studying church history in Paris and Rome, Peterson returned to Boston. Peterson was appointed as a faculty member in 1911 at St. John's Seminary, teaching economics. He was later appointed rector, staying at the seminary until 1926.

A major area of tension in the diocese came from ethnic strife between the Irish and French-Canadian communities. A French speaker, Peterson told a Manchester dinner audience in 1932 that he condemned all religious and ethnic hatred and would not support any cause based in hatred. He was able to gain the trust of French-Canadian Catholics in the diocese with his words and actions. Peterson was buried in the crypt at the Cathedral of St. Joseph.