Paul Fitzpatrick Russell (born May 2, 1959) is an American prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who was appointed auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

in May 2022. He was previously the Apostolic Nuncio to

Turkey 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 ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

, and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

and the head of the diplomatic mission to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. In accordance with those roles, he has the personal title of archbishop.

Biography

Early life

Paul Russell was born in

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Val ...

on May 2, 1959. to Isabelle Fitzpatrick and Thaddeus Russell. The family lived in

Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts Shelburne Falls is a historic village in the towns of Shelburne and Buckland in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The village is a census-designated place (CDP) with a population of 1,731 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Spr ...

, then moved to Malden, Massachusetts 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 Alpena ( ') is the only city in and county seat of Alpena County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,483 at the 2010 census. After Traverse City, it is the second most populated city in the Northern Michigan region. The city ...

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 A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but d ...

. After returning from France, Russell entered at Saint John's Seminary in Boston. Wanting to learn Spanish, he traveled to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and Bolivia 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 and was assigned to St. Joseph Parish in

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offer ...

Priesthood

On June 20, 1987, Russell was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston by then Archbishop Bernard Law. Russell's first posting after ordination was to Sacred Heart Parish in West Lynn, Massachusetts. 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 training facility for Vatican diplomats. He earned his licentiate and doctorate in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. 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 The Apostolic Nunciature to Switzerland is an ecclesiastical office of the Catholic Church in Switzerland. It is a diplomatic post of the Holy See, whose representative is called the Apostolic Nuncio, with the rank of an ambassador. The nunc ...

, when he also assumed pastoral duties of an English-language parish. In 2005, Russell went to the Apostolic Nunciature to Nigeria, remaining there three years. On May 2, 2008,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

named Russell ''chargé d'affaires'' of the

Apostolic Nunciature to China The Apostolic Nunciature to China is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to the Republic of China. The Republic of China is now more commonly referred to as “ Taiwan”. However, as far as the Vatican is concerned, the Republic of China is ...

(located in

, the Republic of China), making him the head of the diplomatic mission. On March 19, 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Russell as Apostolic Nuncio to Türkiye and

. 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, with Archbishop

Allen Vigneron Allen Henry Vigneron (born October 21, 1948) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the current archbishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit in Michigan and Ecclesiastical Superior of the Cayman Islands, serving since 2009. V ...

and Archbishop

Leo Cushley Leo William Cushley (born 18 June 1961) is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in Scotland. He previously served as head of the English language section of the Vatican Secretariat of State. Early life Leo Cushley was bor ...

serving as the co-consecrators. The post of Nuncio to

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, a beatified priest who died in the

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoner ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Russell is fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, and German.

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