Ketlen Adrien Solak was elected bishop by the clergy and lay leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh on June 26, 2021. She was ordained and consecrated a bishop on November 13, 2021, and was formally seated as the ninth Bishop of Pittsburgh in a service at Trinity Cathedral the following day.
In her acceptance speech to the electing convention, she coined the phrase, “a Pittsburgher for Jesus,” which took root and spread through the diocese even before her consecration.
She is known to infuse her writing and speech with the lyrics of songs and great hymns, and to speak with a musical cadence in her voice – a lilt, she calls it – which she attributes to both her love of music and her French-Caribbean roots.
Bishop Solak was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in a Roman Catholic family that was devout in faith and active in helping others. In her youth, she was drawn to the beauty of the church’s liturgy and she found inspiration and joy in reading the Bible. She moved to the United States as a teenager in order to pursue her education. Along the way, she felt called to the Episcopal Church and eventually the priesthood. After graduating from seminary and ordination, she served in parishes in Virginia and Delaware. In 2014, she became the founding rector of the Brandywine Collaborative Ministries, a partnership of three distinct congregations in Wilmington that operate as a cohesive community, a position she held until her election as bishop.
Dr. Solak has earned four academic degrees: a Bachelor and Master of Music from Catholic University in Washington, DC; and a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria.
It was through her interest in becoming a classical pianist that she met her husband, Scott. Both were auditioning at the same time to be admitted to Catholic U.’s music program. As they heard each other warming up, each wondered, “Who is the better player?” That friendly competition led not only to both being accepted at the university, but also to their forty-plus years of being together.
For Bishop Solak’s schedule, contact her Executive Assistant, Andrea Rath, at 412-721-0853, ext. 251, or via email at arath@episcopalpgh.org.