Paul D. Etienne

Paul Dennis Étienne (born June 15, 1959) is an American Catholic prelate serving as Archbishop of Seattle since 2019. He previously served as Bishop of Cheyenne from 2009 to 2016 and Archbishop of Anchorage from 2016 to 2019.

Early life and education Etienne was born on June 15, 1959, in Tell City, Indiana, the second son of Paul and Kay Étienne. One of his uncles is a diocesan priest and an aunt is a Benedictine nun. Etienne has a sister (Nicolette) who is a Benedictine nun at Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana; two brothers, (Zachary and Bernard) are diocesan priests in the Diocese of Evansville.

In 1983, Etienne entered Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, but transferred in 1984 to University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from St. Thomas in 1986. After his graduation, Etienne worked for a year for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as an assistant coordinator for papal visits. After his ordination, Etienne served as assistant pastor of Saint Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis and assistant vocation director for the archdiocese. He returned to Rome in 1994, obtaining his Licentiate of Spiritual Theology from Gregorian University in 1995.

Bishop of Cheyenne

On October 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Etienne as bishop of Cheyenne. He succeeded Bishop David L. Ricken. Etienne was consecrated at the Cheyenne Civic Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput on December 9, 2009. In 2010, Etienne requested an investigation by the Vatican into sexual abuse allegations by 11 men against Joseph Hart, a former bishop of Wyoming. Etienne suspended Hart from performing masses in 2015. In 2018, Etienne announced the establishment of an independent commission to examine the personnel files of the archdiocese over the past 50 years for any new credible accusations of sexual abuse by priests against minors.

Coadjutor Archbishop and Archbishop of Seattle On April 29, 2019, Pope Francis named Etienne as coadjutor archbishop of Seattle. The appointment was publicized by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The mass celebrating his "rite of reception" was held on June 7, 2019, at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Washington.

On September 3, 2019, Etienne automatically became archbishop of Seattle, following the resignation of his predecessor, Archbishop J. Peter Sartain. A few days later, Etienne announced that he would not reside in Connolly House, the mansion for the archbishop of Seattle. He stated:

In 2021, Etienne announced his opposition to a proposal on the eucharist by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, stating that it had become politicized. In 2024, he participated in the Synod of Bishops, emphasizing the importance of moving at "the pace of the Holy Spirit" in church deliberations. Following the death of Pope Francis in April 2025, Etienne released a statement mourning the loss and highlighting the Pope's role as a universal shepherd for all of God's children.

In May 2025, Etienne, together with Bishops Joseph J. Tyson and Thomas Daly, sued the State of Washington over Senate Bill 5375, a piece of legislation which would extend the mandatory reporter status of the clergy. The bill would have required priests disclose information about child sex abuse that they learned from people during confession. The prelates argued that this requirement violated their religious freedom, as it contravened canon law. It would necessitate the excommunication of priests who complied with the law, and compromise the absolute privacy entailed in the sacrament of penance. In July 2025, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking enforcement of the law, ruling that "requiring disclosure of information priests hear in the confessional infringes on their First Amendment right to practice religion."

Etienne in August 2025 visited Nagasaki, Japan, to mark the 80th anniversary of the dropping of nuclear bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima during World War II. The aim of the visit was to promote the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Personal life Etienne's immediate family is notable for its very high proportion of religious vocations.