Archbishop Paul Coakley attended the university of Kansas where he completed his undergraduate studies in English and Classical Antiquities. After being ordained a priest in 1983, he served as a priest of the Wichita Diocese for 21 years. He was installed as bishop of Salina, Kansas by Saint John Paul II in 2004 and was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the fourth archbishop of the archdiocese of Oklahoma City, where he has served since 2011. His episcopal motto is Duc in Altum, which translated from Latin, means "Put out into the Deep."