Paul Fitzpatrick Russell
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Paul Fitzpatrick Russell (born May 2, 1959) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in May 2022. He was previously the Apostolic Nuncio to Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan and the head of the diplomatic mission to Taiwan. In accordance with those roles, he has the personal title of
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
.


Biography


Early life

Paul Russell was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts on May 2, 1959. to Isabelle Fitzpatrick and Thaddeus Russell. The family lived in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, then moved to
Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...
and then Willmington, Massachusetts. In a 2016 interview, Russell said that he first thought of becoming a priest in the first grade. When Russell was in third grade, his parents divorced and he moved with his mother and siblings to Alpena, Michigan He then attended the parish school of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Russell graduated from Alpena High School in 1977, and then spent a year in France as an exchange student. After returning from France, Russell entered at Saint John's Seminary in Boston. Wanting to learn Spanish, he traveled to Peru and
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
with the St. James Society, spending a year in South America. Part of his time there was in language school, the other part was living with a poor family. Russell returned to St. John Seminary around 1985 to resume his studies. On January 31, 1987, he was ordained a
transitional deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
and was assigned to St. Joseph Parish in Wakefield, Massachusetts.


Priesthood

On June 20, 1987, Russell was ordained to the priesthood for the
Archdiocese of Boston The Archdiocese of Boston ( la, Archidiœcesis Bostoniensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New England region of the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the whole of ...
by then Archbishop
Bernard Law Bernard Francis Law (November 4, 1931 – December 20, 2017) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, known largely for covering up the serial rape of children by Catholic priests. He served as Archbishop of Boston, archprie ...
. Russell's first posting after ordination was to Sacred Heart Parish in
West Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest municipality in Massachusetts and the largest city in Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line at Suffolk Downs, Lynn is part of Greater Boston's urban inner core. Settled by E ...
. Shortly after arriving at a new assignment at St. Eulalia Parish in Winchester, Massachusetts in 1992, Law asked Russell to become his priest-secretary. In 1993, Law invited Russell to joined the Vatican Diplomatic Service.


Vatican diplomatic service

In 1993, Russell entered the
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy ( la, Pontificia Ecclesiastica Academia, it, Pontificia Accademia Ecclesiastica) is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. The academy is dedicated to training priests to serve in the diplomatic c ...
, the training facility for Vatican diplomats. He earned his licentiate and doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University. On July 1, 1997, Russell entered the diplomatic service, serving first for a short while in Rome working with then-Bishop James Harvey. Later in 1997, Russell was assigned to the Apostolic Nunciature to Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, stationed in Ethiopia. He worked there for three years. In 2000, Russell was transferred to the Apostolic Nunciature to Turkey and Turkmenistan. In 2002, he was sent to the Apostolic Nunciature to Switzerland, when he also assumed pastoral duties of an English-language parish. In 2005, Russell went to the
Apostolic Nunciature to Nigeria The Apostolic Nunciature to Nigeria is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to Nigeria. The Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, with the rank of an ambassador. The nuncio serves both as the a ...
, remaining there three years. On May 2, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named Russell ''chargé d'affaires'' of the Apostolic Nunciature to China (located in Taiwan, the Republic of China), making him the head of the diplomatic mission. On March 19, 2016, Pope Francis appointed Russell as Apostolic Nuncio to
Türkiye Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
and Turkmenistan . On June 3, 2016, Russell was consecrated titular archbishop of Novi in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston by Cardinal
Seán O'Malley Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan ( Ulster variant; ang ...
, with Archbishop Allen Vigneron and Archbishop Leo Cushley serving as the co-consecrators. The post of Nuncio to Azerbaijan was added to Russell's responsibilities on April 7, 2018. Russell resigned his post as apostolic nuncio on February 2, 2022.


Archbishop Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit

On May 23, 2022, Pope Francis named Russell as an auxiliary bishop of Detroit, allowing him to keep the personal title of archbishop. On July 7, 2022, he was installed as auxiliary bishop. On the occasion when an archbishop in his own right is appointed bishop of a diocesan see, the archbishop is personally referred to as the "Archbishop Bishop of ee Name" In Russell's very rare circumstance, as an archbishop in his own right being appointed as an auxiliary bishop, he was to be personally be referred to as an "Archbishop Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit." Russell has a devotion to his mother's cousin
Michał Piaszczyński Michael Piaszczynski (1 November 1885 – 18 December 1940) was a Polish Catholic priest who was arrested by the Nazis and killed at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. As a martyr he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 13 June 1999. Life Michae ...
, a beatified priest who died in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II. Russell is fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, and German.


See also

* Catholic Church hierarchy * Catholic Church in the United States * Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States * List of Catholic bishops of the United States * Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops * List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See


Notes


References


External links


Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Official Site
* *


Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Paul Fitzpatrick 1959 births Living people People from Greenfield, Massachusetts People from Alpena, Michigan Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts) alumni Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular archbishops Apostolic Nuncios to Turkey Apostolic Nuncios to Turkmenistan Apostolic Nuncios to Azerbaijan Catholics from Massachusetts Catholics from Michigan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston Bishops appointed by Pope Francis