New Catholic archbishop appointed to the Archdiocese of Seattle
Seattle has a new Catholic archbishop.
Paul D. Etienne was appointed Tuesday to be the area’s sixth archbishop. He succeeds Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, whose resignation Pope Francis accepted Tuesday.
Sartain, citing “ongoing health challenges following a series of spinal surgeries,” asked Pope Francis a year ago to appoint a “coadjutor archbishop” to share his duties, according to a news statement from the Archdiocese of Seattle. Etienne was appointed to that post in April.
Etienne was born in Tell City, Indiana, and is one of six children, including two brothers who are Catholic priests and one sister who is a Benedictine nun, according to the statement.
He plans to address Seattle Catholics in a live video stream on the Archdiocese of Seattle Facebook page at noon Tuesday. He will also give a prayer service at 4 p.m. Tuesday and a “Welcome Mass” at 5 p.m. Tuesday, both at St. James Cathedral, according to the statement.
The archdiocese said Etienne wants to focus on evangelism and developing “a strategic pastoral plan to foster a community that loves Christ and helps people live more fully for Christ.”
Etienne also said in the statement that he wants to hear from the area’s bishops and is committed to transparency.
“I will speak out about issues and ensure our community understands our Catholic teaching,” he said.
Before coming to Seattle, Etienne was the fourth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Anchorage and a bishop of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyoming, according to the statement. He studied at Bellarmine College in Louisville, Kentucky; the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota; and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
The Archdiocese of Seattle has 169 parishes, missions and pastoral centers across Western Washington
No comments:
Post a Comment