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 May 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.

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.

When Russell was in third grade, his parents divorced; Russell 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 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.

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.

Priesthood
On June 20, 1987, Russell was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston by Archbishop Bernard Law.

After his 1987 ordination, the archdiocese assigned Russell as an associate pastor to Sacred Heart Parish in West Lynn, Massachusetts. In 1992, shortly after arriving at a new assignment at St. Eulalia Parish in Winchester, Massachusetts, Law asked Russell to become one of his priest-secretaries. In 1993, Law invited Russell to join the Vatican Diplomatic Service.

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.

On July 1, 1997, Russell entered the diplomatic service, 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 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, with Archbishops Allen Vigneron and Leo Cushley serving as co-consecrators. The post of apostolic 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 [See 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 during World War II. Russell is fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, and German.