Paul Fitzpatrick Russell

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 Michigan in 2022. He previously served as 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.

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 and next to Willmington, Massachusetts. In a 2016 interview, Russell said that he first thought of becoming a priest in the first grade.

After returning from France, Russell entered at Saint John's Seminary in Boston. Wanting to learn Spanish, he traveled to Peru and Bolivia with the St. James Society, spending a year in South America. Part of his time there was spent in language school, the other part was living with a poor family.

Vatican diplomatic service In 1993, Russell went to Rome to enter the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the training facility for Vatican diplomats. He earned a Licentiate in Canon Law and a Doctor of Canon Law degree at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. serving first for a short while in Rome working with 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, the Vatican sent Russell to the Apostolic Nunciature to Turkey and Turkmenistan. In 2002, he was transferred 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, remaining there three years.

On May 2, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named Russell as chargé d'affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature to China (located in Taiwan, the Republic of China), making him the head of the diplomatic mission.

Apostolic nuncio/archbishop On March 19, 2016, Pope Francis appointed Russell as apostolic nuncio to Turkey and titular archbishop of Novi. On June 3, 2016, Russell was consecrated in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston by Cardinal Seán O'Malley, with Archbishops Allen Vigneron and Leo Cushley serving as co-consecrators. 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 began his role as auxiliary bishop.

Russell has a devotion to his mother's cousin Michał Piaszczyński, a beatified priest who died in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II. Russell is fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, and German.