[1] He received his early education at parochial schools and Franciscan seminaries.
[2] He then served as a curate in Roswell, New Mexico, for a year before becoming chancellor of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in 1919.
[1] In 1926, he earned a Licentiate of Canon Law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.[1] Espelage served as rector of the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi (1934-1939) and then returned to Oldenburg, serving as pastor of Holy Family Parish (1939-1940).
[1] On July 20, 1940, Pope Pius XII appointed Espelage as the first bishop of the Diocese of Gallup.
[2] He received his episcopal consecration on October 9, 1940. from Archbishop John T. McNicholas, with Bishop Joseph H. Albers and Archbishop Joseph Ritter serving as co-consecrators.