The Most Reverend Alexander J. Brunett
Archbishop of Seattle

    Alexander Joseph Brunett, the fourth Archbishop of Seattle, was appointed Archbishop of Seattle by Pope John Paul II on October 28, 1997.

    Archbishop Brunett was born on January 17, 1934 in Detroit, Michigan. He was the second oldest of the fourteen children born to Cecilia Gill Brunett and the late Raymond Brunett. 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 in Rome on July 13, 1958.

    He holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree from Sacred Heart Seminary and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) and Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) Degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University. In addition, Archbishop Brunett has done M.Ed. studies at the University of Detroit and Ph.D. studies at Marquette University, Milwaukee. He also did post graduate work at the Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, the Institute Catholique in Paris, and the Goethe Institute in Radolfzell, Germany.

    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, he 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 addition, he served as Chairman of the Archdiocesan Theological Commission, Vicar for the Northwest Wayne Vicariate, an editorial writer for The Michigan Catholic newspaper, third National chairman of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Detroit, in 1976. Since that time he has participated in many Jewish-Catholic programs and has edited several studies 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 on his efforts to combat anti-Semitism and to create a climate of mutual respect in Catholic-Jewish relations."

    Named a monsignor in 1990, Archbishop Brunett was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Helena, Montana, by Pope John Paull II in 1994.  In April 1996, Archbishop Brunett was named recipient of the DOVE Award, presented by the Ecumenical Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies in Detroit, Michigan. That same year he was elected chairman of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.