Early this morning I received an email from my brother, Fr. Paul. I think the email is worth sharing with you! Please pray for my brother as he begins this new chapter in his life. My family of course is so very proud of the way Paul continues to choose daily to know, love and serve our magnificent God! He has always been a role model for me and I suspect for many others. Thank you, Paul for having the courage to say yes in all that God calls you to do!
My dear family, as you receive this message, I am in Cheyenne,
Wyoming for an announcement that will change the direction of my
life. On Monday, October 6, I received a phone call from Archbishop
Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States informing me
that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI , had named me Bishop of
Cheyenne , Wyoming. Once I regained the ability to speak, I humbly
accepted the appointment. The official announcement was released
noon Rome time today (Monday) and will be 10:00 AM local time in
Cheyenne. At this time, the ordination/installation is planned for
either December 9th or 11th, 2009 in Cheyenne, though subject to
change.
I am very grateful to our Holy Father for such trust and confidence,
and promised him that I would serve as faithfully as I could. I now
ask for your prayers. I realize this news has numerous
ramifications, and is accompanied by a wave of emotion. I will
return to Tell City on Wednesday this week, and look forward to
being with you for a little while longer until the ordination and
work begins in Cheyenne. I'll gladly answer all your questions upon
my return.
Until then, know of my profound appreciation for your years of love
and support, and know of my prayers and love for all of you!
God bless,
+ Paul
Jesus, Mary and Joseph bless, protect and guide my brother Paul as well as the wonderful people of Cheyenne.
Monday, October 19, 2009
My brother, Fr. Paul, named Bishop of the Cheyenne Diocese
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21 comments:
This is excellent news! We will miss him at St. Meinrad, but our loss is the good people of Cheyenne's gain.
This is wonderful news, especially for the good people of the Diocese of Cheyenne. Our prayers are with Paul and your family for sure. Gosh, just think of all the hunting and camping ground this new bishop will have!
May God continue guiding him and protecting him in this very difficult and important task.
Nicolette-
I am sure you are very proud. Your family, in its perseverance, has inspired the lives of many Hoosiers--including mine. Now Paul goes to witness to our faith and to lead Catholics in the West. Godspeed to him!
Bernard Cissell
Congratulations! Catholics all across the country are waiting eagerly to know what sort of bishop he shall be, but from everything I've seen so far this morning, he seems like a man in love with Christ and His Church.
I live just north of Cheyenne and we are SO very excited to have your brother appointed as our Bishop! We have prayed long and hard for this and I can assure you he will be welcomed with open arms and hearts!
What wonderful news! I remember Fr. Paul from my time in the Stewardship and Development Office in Indy in 2001-2002. The Diocese of Cheyenne will be blessed.
Scott Whitaker
My family and I are so very excited to hear this news. We are a Catholic homeschooling family new to Cheyenne. Welcome Fr. Paul! I am brimming over with happiness as we await your arrival.
God Bless
Your brother is an inspiring man of God and a truely exceptional priest. During his time at Bishop Brute, he helped many of us seminarians make it through the rough times and become better because of it. Cheyenne is will soon know just how blessed they are to have Fr Paul as their bishop. I'll keep him and all your family in my prayers.
Sr. Nicolette,
Please extend my congratulations to your brother, Paul and my best wishes to you and the rest of the Etienne clan! My family and I will be praying for the new bishop of Cheyenne.
Shane Drefcinski
SJV Class of 1989
Sister Nicolette, Thank you for posting this. I am a Carmelite monk in Wyoming, excited to finally have a bishop. It is inspiring to see his closeness to you and your siblings along with his knowledge of spirituality. I can see him as a great gift from Our Lord to the Diocese of Cheyenne.
We will look forward to his coming. Perhaps he will be able to hunt on our land near Cody even! Our Carmelite monks website is here and we sell coffee too: Mystic Monk Coffee. I thought you might like to know what religious will be in Wyoming. God bless! - Br. Michael Mary
I had the previlege of announcing this wonderful news to our congregation this morning at our 8am Mass here at Our Lady of the Mountains, in Jackson, Wyoming! I'm so happy, that at last, the Diocese of Cheyenne has a new Shepherd. I am Rev. Florante E. Marcelo, Associate Pastor here and welcomes your brother as our New Bishop!
Sister,
We're thrilled to have your brother as our next Bishop here in Cheyenne! I know he'll be very happy here... it's a beautiful state with wonderful people.
Dear Sister Nicolette,
How exciting! Thanks for passing on such great news. You can count on my prayers for your family as you all begin to process the new position of your brother. Have you ever been to Cheyenne?
Linda
Sr. Nicolette (& my blood sister):
Keep up the good work. Your blog has been great this year. Know that Saint Mary Church in Ireland has been praying the following Intercession every Sunday for the past month: "For those serving and being called to serve the Church as bishops: may they be Good Shepherds and re-energize parish life throughout their dioceses, we pray to the Lord (R)...
I look forward to seeing you later this week.
God bless, Fr. Zach
http://www.irelandindiana.com/StMarysCatholicChurch/Index.htm
This is wonderful! Your dear brother was our pastor at St. Simon the Apostle here in Indianapolis, and we loved him. I know the faithful of Wyoming will love him, too. God bless the bishop on his new journey. God bless the great state of Wyoming!
Father Paul is a wonderful priest. Really kind and loving. And i hate to see him go . He is my pastor..
He has been great since he came here in july. And has taken it on himself to return our wonderful statues back into the main church where they can be seen and honored. Because of this Our Lady has honored him with many blessings . She never fails to reward her childern when they honor her... I am sure he will be greatly loved where he is going... If they dont he sure would be welcome back here.. WE LOVE HIM !May God Bless him. And MAry, God's Mother, obtain for him many blessings and graces
Great news!! Who would have thought someone from small town Tell City would end up being a bishop. It was a pleasure having Paul as an associate at St. Barnabas, his first assignment. his sermons often mentioned something about growing up in Tell City and it was comforting thinking about "home". Please pass on my congrats to Paul and the rest of the family.
Sister Nicolette,
The May Family of TC is so very proud and happy to have heard the news! Cheyenne and Wyoming is so very blessed to have the man, the priest, and a friend in Paul and a tie to the Etiennes!
Peace and Joy, Neil May
I remember your brother as kind and gentle seminarian. I also knew him to be prayerful man and all of those qualities will serve him as the Bishop of Cheyenne.
David Strong
SJV Alumni
Dear Sr. Nicolette,
We live in a small town outside of Casper, WY. We are so thankful God has answered our prayers and sent us a new bishop. Our oldest son is a seminarian for our diocese and we are so excited to meet bishop-elect Paul and welcome him with open arms. Please pass on our prayers and our excitement to be shepherded by him. Thanks. In Christ's peace, Ruthie Halvorsen
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