Appointment of coadjutor of Seattle, U.S.A.

The Holy Father Francis has appointed as coadjutor archbishop of Seattle, United States of America, H.E. Msgr. Paul D. Etienne, currently archbishop of Anchorage.

The archbishop-elect was born on 15 June 1959 in Tell City, Indiana. He carried out his ecclesial studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, as a resident at the Pontifical North American College, and subsequently obtained a licentiate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas in Rome.

He was ordained a priest for the archdiocese of Indianapolis on 27 June 1992. Since ordination he has held the following roles: deputy priest of the Saint Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis, episcopal vicar for the Promotion of Vocations, parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in New Albany, and vice rector of the Simon Bruté College Seminary in Indianapolis.

He was appointed as bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming on 19 October 2009, and as archbishop of Anchorage, Alaska on 4 October 2016. Within the Episcopal Conference he is chairman of the Subcommittee for Home Missions.