“A Pastor, Not a Prince”: Seattle’s Archbishop Moves Into a $2.4 Million Home

• The Archdiocese of Seattle bought a $2.4 million home for Archbishop Paul Etienne
• In 2019 he had promised to live a more simplified life
• The former archbishop’s residence, Connolly House, sold for $13.5 million
• The archdiocese said more than $10 million from that sale was kept for ministries

Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne was moving from a parish rectory into a newly purchased $2.4 million home in the Mount Baker neighbourhood, drawing criticism from church members, National Catholic Reporter reported on November 29, 2022.

In 2019 Etienne had said he would avoid the traditional archbishop’s residence and “live a more simplified life”. “I am a pastor, not a prince, and I want to live in a manner that’s more reflective of how my people live,” he said at the time.

The new residence, called Bethany House, has 3,460 square feet and five bedrooms. Average home prices in Mount Baker were $1.39 million, well above Seattle’s $843,000 average. The former bishop’s residence, Connolly House, had sold for $13.5 million, and the archdiocese retained more than $10 million from that sale for ministries. Spokesperson Helen McClenahan said the new house would let the archbishop accommodate visiting clergy and host events, calling it “a key part of his ministry.”

Tim Law of the group Heal Our Church said the purchase broke the archbishop’s promise: “His very first message to people is he shouldn’t be living any higher than most of those he serves.”

Clergy housing is part of every church’s property budget, in Jamaica as elsewhere, and manses and rectories are often among a denomination’s most valuable assets. Seattle shows how the choice of a leader’s home can become a test of credibility. Selling an expensive residence and buying a more modest one can free money for ministry, as the archdiocese said happened here, but members will judge the result by what the new house looks like next to their own homes.

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