CHEYENNE -- Calling it "God's will," Indianapolis pastor Paul D. Etienne was named by Pope Benedict XVI on Monday as the eighth bishop of Cheyenne.

Etienne, 50, will officially be instilled in early December. He succeeds Bishop David L. Ricken, who left the Cheyenne diocese in August 2008 to become bishop of Green Bay, Wis.

The Cheyenne diocese, which covers the entire state of Wyoming, is home to more than 53,000 Catholics in 36 parishes.

Since 2003, Etienne has been pastor of two parishes and vice-rector of a seminary in Indianapolis.

Etienne, who was in Cheyenne on Monday for the announcement, said he was "surprisingly at peace in my heart" to be coming to Wyoming.

"I've learned over the years to trust that God's grace will always be there, and I just have to learn how to learn heavily upon it and draw upon it, and be open as I can to where the Lord is leading," Etienne said. "But, I would be less than genuine if I didn't say there wasn't a certain amount of fear and trepidation involved in the midst of that peace as well."

Etienne said he plans to spend his first year as bishop getting to know people in the local church and throughout Wyoming before collaborating with people to address the needs of the diocese.

As a former vocations director and vice-rector of a college seminary, Etienne said encouraging young men to join the priesthood is "very high" on his personal priority list.

A native of Tell City, Ind., Etienne became a priest comparatively late in life, at age 33.

"I very much in my earlier years wanted to be married and have a wife and family and be a successful businessperson," he said. "But God kept calling and kept pursuing and kept shutting doors in my face and eventually brought me around to his will and plan. And I'm grateful that he did."

Etienne comes from a spiritual family: his brothers Bernard and Zachary are priests in Evansville, Ind., and his sister Nicolette is a Benedictine Sister with Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana.

Etienne said his reception so far has been "warm and welcoming."

"It's a good omen for the good things to come," he said.

Since Ricken's departure last year, Father Michael Carr has temporarily overseen the diocese until the appointment of a new bishop.

After 15 months without a bishop, the Cheyenne diocese is "thrilled" to have Etienne, said diocese chancellor Carol DeLois .

"We have received a good and holy man here in Wyoming," she said. "I think he is going to be very good for Wyoming. He has a good background as far as he's been a parish priest -- he understands how things work in a parish. He likes people. He believes in family. He likes the outdoors.

"So yes, we're very impressed," she said.

Contact capital bureau reporter Jeremy Pelzer at 307-632-1244 or jeremy.pelzer@trib.com