The Most Reverend Alexander J Brunett
Alexander Joseph Brunett was appointed Archbishop of Seattle by Pope John Paul II on October 28, 1997.
Born January 17, 1934, in Detroit, Michigan, he was the second oldest of the fourteen children. His parents are Cecilia Gill Brunett and Raymond Brunett, both now deceased.
Archbishop Brunett attended St. Ambrose Grade School in Grosse Point Park, Michigan, and Sacred Heart Seminary High School in Detroit. He studied for the priesthood at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit and at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on July 13, 1958.
Archbishop Brunett holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree from Sacred Heart Seminary, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.), and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) Degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He has also undertaken M.Ed. studies at the University of Detroit and Ph.D. studies at Marquette University, Milwaukee, as well as post-graduate work at the Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, the Institute Catholique in Paris, and the Goethe Institute in Radolfzell, Germany.
Outside of the pastoral positions noted below, Archbishop Brunett’s ministry has focused on international affairs and dialogue. He has served as a member or chairman of international committees and national dialogues, including Jewish/Roman Catholic, Islamic/Roman Catholic, and Orthodox/Roman Catholic. He recently completed five years as a member of the International Roman Catholic-World Methodist Dialogue and most recently served as Co-Chairman of ARCIC, the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission.
Other roles have included chairman of the Archdiocesan Theological Commission, vicar for the Northwest Wayne Vicariate for the Archdiocese of Detroit, editorial writer for The Michigan Catholic newspaper and national chairman of the Third Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Detroit.
Since 1976, Archbishop Brunett has participated in many Jewish-Catholic programs, has edited several studies and produced numerous articles that have been published. He has served as President of the Ecumenical Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies, an organization he co-founded. In 1989 Archbishop Brunett was chosen by Temple Beth El of Birmingham, Michigan, to receive the Leo Franklin Award in Human Relations in “recognition of his efforts to combat anti-Semitism and to create a climate of mutual respect in Catholic-Jewish relations.” In April 1996 Archbishop Brunett was named recipient of the DOVE Award, presented by the Ecumenical Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies in Detroit, Michigan.
From 1959 to 1961, Archbishop Brunett served as Associate Pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Detroit. From 1961 to 1962, he served as Associate Pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish in Dearborn, Michigan.
From 1962 to 1964, Archbishop Brunett served as chaplain at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In 1968 he was chaplain at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. From 1969 to 1973, he served as Academic Dean of St. John’s Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan.
From 1973 to 1991, Archbishop Brunett served as Director of the Division of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Archdiocese of Detroit and as Pastor of St. Aidan Parish in Livonia, Michigan. He also served as President of the National Association of Diocesan Ecumenical Officers from 1974 to 1981.
In 1990 the title of Monsignor was conferred upon him by Pope John Paul II.
In 1991 he was named pastor of Shrine of the Little Flower Parish in Royal Oak, Michigan.
In April 1994 he was named by Pope John Paul II as Bishop of Helena, Montana.
In 1996 he was elected chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. He continues to serve as a member of that committee and as a member of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Policy.
Archbishop Brunett also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of St. Patrick Seminary (Menlo Park, California), Mundelein Seminary (Mundelein, Illinois), and as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), a papal agency that facilitates humanitarian and pastoral support to the people of the Middle East, Northeast Africa, India and Eastern Europe.
