As the Archbishop of Seattle, I request your prayers for our city after yesterday’s shooting that took the lives of three individuals and left several others injured. You can learn more about the situation by reading this article from our Northwest Catholic Magazine. https://nwcatholic.org/news/northwest-catholic/archbishop-etienne-offers-prayers-for-seattle-center-shooting-victims-in-letter-to-mayor The article also carries the message Read more
It is hard to believe the month of July has nearly passed us by! This month has been far more engaging than normal, including a few unscheduled encounters. In early July we held an annual chancery BBQ for all our employees. We are so blessed with the dedicated people who Read more
Priesthood Ordination HomilyJune 6, 2026 – St. James CathedralDeacon Simon Stehr and Br. Damien Joseph Rappuhn, OSB The Gospel chosen for today’s ordination places Jesus at table with the apostles. (Luke 22) This is a beautiful image that defines the one Priesthood of Jesus Christ quite succinctly. Jesus is the Read more
Yesterday some 3,300 people gathered for the Ascend Eucharistic Revival at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, which concluded with Mass. Below is the homily. I’m grateful to Fr. Nicholas Wichert and all the other many individuals who helped coordinate this historic gathering of Catholics from across the Archdiocese of Seattle. Read more
As the US Bishops prepare to consecrate the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 11 I am happy to share this Pastoral Letter on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Understanding the significance of this devotion is important. When in the 17th century Jesus asked St. Margaret Mary Read more
In this month of May, the parochial vicars of the Archdiocese of Seattle gathered at the retreat center for a two day conference. We began with a Mass in honor of Our Blessed Mother to bless a new statue which has now been placed in the sanctuary of the retreat Read more
“Christ Lives in Us” To speak of the Resurrection is no small thing. It would help, of course, if one could first visit heaven—or if one could sit down, face to face, with the Risen Lord himself. But that is not how God chose to reveal this mystery. Instead, the Read more
The Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross St. Catherine wrote in Letter 102: We were that soil into which the banner of the most holy cross was set; we became a sort of vessel to receive the blood of the Lamb which rand down from the cross. Why Read more
Saint John begins tonight’s Gospel with a line that opens a window into the very heart of Jesus. “So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took Read more
After receiving a beautiful invitation from the Pastor, Sisters and parishioners of St. Francis Xavier Parish on the San Juan Islands, I spent the 4th weekend of Lent with them earlier in March. I arrived at St. Marys in Anacortes on a Saturday morning to visit with the two priests Read more