For Cheyenne, Pentecost Amid Power Tools

Great cross that the office is these days, the last thing you'd want near a priest learning of his elevation to the episcopacy is a chainsaw... but earlier this month, that's exactly where Providence placed Fr Paul Etienne when he got word of his appointment as bishop of Cheyenne.

In an extended interview with the Indy Criterion's Sean Gallagher, Wyoming's prelate-to-be tells the story:

[I]t was bizarre. I don’t know what else to say. [The papal nuncio] Archbishop [Pietro] Sambi called the office at the parish and it was my day off. We had to play phone tag. I was up at the [family] farm with a chain saw, working in the woods. And, when he called, I was just getting out of my pickup truck.

I was in my Carhart jeans and in my work boots, and had nothing to take notes with. I was just sitting there in my truck listening to him tell me that I’ve just been named bishop. And he had to say ‘Cheyenne’ four times before I could understand what he was saying.

I still just can hardly believe it. It’s a very unusual experience. What can I say?

There's more, and it's all worthwhile reading.

Earlier this week, the Cheyenne church announced that Etienne's 9 December ordination would be an open-invite Mass at the city's convention center.

PHOTO: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle via Nicolette Etienne OSB

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