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Archbishop
Paul
Fitzpatrick
Russell,
then
apostolic
nuncio
to
Turkey,
Turkmenistan
and
Azerbaijan,
greets
Pope
Francis
at the
Vatican
on Sept.
13,
2018.
The
Massachusetts-born
Archbishop
Russell,
who
spent a
majority
of his
childhood
in
Michigan,
was
appointed
May 23
by Pope
Francis
as the
31st
auxiliary
bishop
of the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit.
(Vatican
Media
photo) |
| |
New
Auxiliary
Bishop
Named
for the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit
DETROIT
- In a
surprise
announcement
early
May 23,
Pope
Francis
appointed
a
longtime
Vatican
diplomat
with
ties to
Michigan
as an
auxiliary
bishop
of the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit.
Because
Archbishop
Russell
was
given
the
title
“archbishop”
by Pope
Francis
upon his
episcopal
consecration
and
appointment
as
nuncio
in 2016,
he will
retain
that
title
while
serving
as
auxiliary
bishop
to
current
Detroit
Archbishop
Allen H.
Vigneron.
“We
are
deeply
grateful
to Pope
Francis
for
appointing
Archbishop
Russell
as
auxiliary
bishop
for the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit,
and we
are
similarly
grateful
to
Archbishop
Russell
for
accepting
this new
ministry,”
Archbishop
Vigneron
said.
“We are
particularly
glad to
welcome
Archbishop
Russell
home to
Michigan,
where he
grew up
and
first
heard
the Lord
call him
to the
priestly
vocation.
Having
served
the
Church
all over
the
world,
Archbishop
Russell
brings
to the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit
a
valuable
perspective
of the
universal
Church
and our
mission
to make
joyful
missionary
disciples
of all
nations.”
Archbishop
Russell
was born
on May
2, 1959
in
Greenfield,
Massachusetts,
to the
late
Isabelle
Fitzpatrick
and
Thaddeus
Russell.
When he
was in
the
third
grade,
his
family
moved to
his
mother’s
hometown
of
Alpena,
Michigan
where
Russell
attended
St.
Bernard
of Clairvaux
elementary
school
and
Alpena
High
School.
He
entered
St.
John’s
Seminary
in
Boston,
Massachusetts,
and was
ordained
a priest
for the
Archdiocese
of
Boston
on June
20,
1987. He
served
in
parish
ministry
for five
years
and one
year as
personal
secretary
to the
Cardinal
Archbishop.
Following
further
study in
Rome at
the
Pontifical
Ecclesiastical
Academy
and the
Pontifical
Gregorian
University,
he
entered
the
diplomatic
service
of the
Holy
See,
serving
in the
Secretariat
of State
and the
Apostolic
Nunciatures
(Vatican
embassies)
in
Ethiopia,
Zimbabwe,
Turkey,
Switzerland
(where
he also
served
in
parish
ministry),
and
Nigeria.
Because
Archbishop
Russell
was
granted
the
title
"archbishop"
when he
was
appointed
an
apostolic
nuncio
by Pope
Francis
in 2016,
he will
retain
that
title
while
serving
as an
auxiliary
bishop
to
current
Detroit
Archbishop
Allen H.
Vigneron.
(Photo
courtesy
of
Archbishop
Paul F.
Russell)
Although
the
timing
of
Archbishop
Russell’s
appointment
— and
his
background
— are a
surprise,
it isn’t
totally
unexpected,
given
that
another
of
Detroit’s
auxiliary
bishops,
Bishop
Donald
F.
Hanchon,
will
turn 75
years
old in
October,
the age
at which
bishops
are
required
by canon
law to
submit
their
resignations
to the
pope.
Archbishop
Russell’s
appointment
means
Detroit
will
continue
to have
four
active
auxiliary
bishops
after
Bishop
Hanchon’s
retirement,
along
with
current
Auxiliary
Bishops
J.
Arturo
Cepeda,
Gerard
W.
Battersby
and
Robert
J.
Fisher.
Detroit
also has
two
currently
retired
auxiliary
bishops,
Bishops
Francis
R. Reiss
and
Thomas
J.
Gumbleton,
as well
as
retired
Cardinal
Adam J.
Maida.
Like
all
auxiliary
bishops,
“my task
is to
assist
Archbishop
Vigneron
as the
chief
shepherd
of the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit,”
Archbishop
Russell
said.
“I’m
open to
serve
however
he’d
like me
to
serve.”
Archbishop
Russell
will
begin
his
service
to the
Archdiocese
of
Detroit
on July
7, when
he will
be
welcomed
to the
archdiocese
during a
2 p.m.
Liturgy
of
Welcome
and
Inauguration
of
Ministry
at the
Cathedral
of the
Most
Blessed
Sacrament.
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