The following is a list of bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, including Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Marianas and Samoa.
The Catholic Church in the United States comprises:
- 176 Latin Church dioceses led by archbishops and bishops
- 18 Eastern Catholic eparchies led by eparchs
- the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, for American military personnel, led by an archbishop
- the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, a special diocese of Anglican converts to Catholicism.[1]
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Transcription
Let’s say you want to become pope, head of the Catholic Church and shepherd to over 1 billion faithful. What requirements must you have for this lofty position: 1) Be a catholic and 2) Be a man. Which seems a little thin… and, while it’s technically possible for a regular Sunday Catholic to become pope, the last time this happened was essentially never because becoming pope isn’t like becoming president, you can’t just run for office. Selecting the pope is an inside job and the men who do it are the cardinals, and while in theory they can select any catholic man to become pope, in practice they prefer to elevate one of their own. The last time a non-cardinal become pope was more than 600 years ago. So, while it isn’t an official requirement, it’s an unofficial, official requirement. Thus in order to be pope you’ll first need to be a cardinal and to do that you’ll need to start climbing the catholic corporate ladder.* Step 1: Become a Priest. Unlike some churches where you can fill out a form online and – poof – ordained. The Catholic Church treats becoming a priest as a real, you-need-training profession. So you’re going to require a lot of education: usually a college degree in Catholic Philosophy and then a masters in divinity. In addition to your educational qualifications, you must also be: A man Unmarried, Willing to remain celibate forever.† If you meet these requirements, and have been working with the church, then you can be officially ordained as a priest. Which basically means you get to run a Catholic Church, or work with another priest who does. But, you want onward and to do that you need to take the job of the man who just made you a priest. Step 2: Become a Bishop Bishops are a much more select group: while there are about 400,000 catholic priests world wide, there are only about 5,000 bishops. While priests get churches, bishops get cathedrals, from which they oversee a number of local churches. To advance your career you must wait for a bishop in your area to be forced into retirement at age 75 or die sooner than that – freeing up space for you. But you can’t just apply, because there’s already a secret list of potential bishops that’s updated every three years based on who the current bishops in your area think would make a good replacement for one of their own. To be on that list, in addition to the obvious requirement of being a pious person, you should also: Be least 35 years old Have been priest for at least five years Have a doctorate in theology (or equivalent) Assuming you’re all these things, your name may, or may not be on the secret list. The local bishops then give that list to the pope’s ambassador for your country, known as the Apostolic Nuncio. The Nuncio picks three priests from the list, does in-depth research on them, conducts interviews and selects the one he thinks is best. But it’s not over, because the Nuncio sends his report to Vatican City and the congress of bishops who work there reviewing potential appointments from around the world. If the congress of bishops doesn’t like any of the three candidates, they can tell the Nuncio to start over: returning to the list, picking another three candidates – doing more research, more interviews and sending off the results. When the congress of bishops is happy with one of the Nuncio’s candidates that name is given to the pope, who can reject the candidate and start the whole process over. It shouldn’t be a surprise that from a vacancy to a bishop’s replacement can take months and, on occasion, years. But assuming that a bishop in your area retired (or died) at the right time and you were on the secret list of good priests and the Nuncio picked you and you made it through his interview and the congress of bishops approved you and the pope didn’t veto you – poof now you’re now a bishop. But you’re still not on top. The penultimate promotion is… Step 3: Become a Cardinal. Despite the fancy name and snazzy red outfits to match cardinals are not the bosses of bishops, they are bishops, just with an additional title and additional responsibilities – the most notable of which is electing the new pope.‡ The only way to become a cardinal is to get to current pope to appoint you as one – and of the 5,000 bishops, only about 200 are ever cardinals. But let’s say your ambition doesn’t go unnoticed by the pope and he makes you a cardinal – now it’s time to play the waiting game for his death or retirement – and with popes death is vastly more likely. When either happens the cardinals under the age of 80 are brought to Vatican City where they are isolated from the outside world – presumably by taking away their cell phones and tablets and carrier pigeons. Once sequestered, the election of a new pope can begin. These elections are never exactly the same because the ex-pope leaves instructions on how he wants his replacement to be picked, but in general it works like this: four times a day the cardinals go to the Sistine Chapel to vote – to become pope one of them must get a 2/3rds majority. There’s a big dose of musent-be-too-hasty here as the cardinals don’t just raise their hands, or use a modern preferential voting system, but instead write down one name on a piece of paper stand before the alter and say a long latin phrase, before officially casting the ballot. Once all the cardinals have done this, the votes are counted and then burned. This why TV news stations covering the election of the pope use super-modern-hd-livestreaming cameras to look at a chimney. If the smoke is black, no new pope. The high victory threshold, and tediously slow voting process, is why it takes so long to elect a new pope. It’s usually at least two weeks of voting four times a day six days a week (with one day a week for prayer) but the record length is three years. Assuming you, eventually, win the support of your fellow cardinals, you have one final thing to do before becoming pope: pick yourself a new name. There is no formal rule, you can name yourself anything you like but it’s tradition to take the name of a previous pope. Upon your acceptance of the job, the final ballots are burned clean to make the smoke white and announce to the world that a new pope has been selected. So that’s the career path: be born into the right half of the population, become one of a billion catholics, then one of 400,000 priests, then one of 5,000 bishops, then one of 200 cardinals, wait for the current pope to die or retire, and convince 2/3rds of your fellow cardinals to select you as the one, the only pope.
Archbishops and bishops
The 176 Latin Church dioceses in the United States are divided into 33 ecclesiastical provinces. Each province has a metropolitan archdiocese led by an archbishop, and at least one suffragan diocese. Each suffragan diocese is led by a bishop. The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA is the only American archdiocese that is not designated as a metropolitan archdiocese. The pope appoints all archbishops and bishops, who must be at least ordained priests. The pope chooses from a list of candidates provided by the papal nuncio of the United States to the Congregation of Bishops in Rome.[2]
- Most archdioceses and large dioceses have one or more auxiliary bishops, serving under the direction of the archbishop or bishop. After consultation with the Papal Nuncio to the United States, the pope appoints all auxiliary bishops.
- Some archdioceses and dioceses have a coadjutor archbishop or coadjutor bishop. The coadjutor assists an elderly or ailing archbishop or bishop with their administrative duties. After the archbishop or bishop retires or dies, the coadjutor normally succeeds him without an appointment by the pope. The pope appoints all coadjutors.
In some rare cases, the pope will name a titular archbishop as the bishop of a suffragan diocese. The most recent example in the United States was that of Celestine Damiano, whom Pope John XXIII named as bishop of the Diocese of Camden in 1960.[3]
There are several dioceses in the American inhabited territories:
- In the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the archbishop and five bishops form their own episcopal conference, the Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña.[4][5]
- In the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Guam, the bishops belong to the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.
All active and retired bishops and archbishops in the United States —diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary—are members of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Foreign-born bishops serving in the United States
Most nations with large Catholic populations in non-missionary geographical areas propose and elect native-born clergy to the episcopacy. An exception to this rule is the United States, which has a significant number of foreign-born bishops, with most serving as auxiliaries in culturally-diverse dioceses. As of 2024, 33 active foreign-born bishops are serving in the United States, representing about 10% of all active American bishops.
- Nine bishops are from Mexico
- Nine are from Vietnam, Philippines, and Poland, with each nation the birthplace of three bishops
- Two are from Brazil
The following nations produced at least one bishop who is serving in the United States: Italy, Haiti, Ireland, Colombia, Lebanon, Peru, Spain, Cuba, South Africa, Malta, Argentina, El Salvador, and Cameroon.
The Archdioceses of Los Angeles and San Antonio and seven dioceses (Raleigh, Fall River, Charleston, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Las Cruces, and St Thomas) are led by foreign-born archbishops and bishops.[6] Two American archdioceses and two dioceses have more than one foreign-born active bishop assigned to them:
- Archdiocese of Los Angeles: (4) Archbishop Gomez and Bishops Szkredeka, Aclan, and Bahuth
- Diocese of Rockville Centre: (2) Bishops Fernandez and Zglejezewski
- Diocese of San Diego: (2) Bishops Pham and Pulido
- Archdiocese of Washington: (2) Archbishop Esposito-Garcia and Bishop Menjivar-Ayala
Additionally, there are several dozen bishops currently serving in the United States who are first-generation American-born children of immigrant parents.
Archeparchs
The United States has two Eastern Catholic metropoliae, each led by a metropolitan archbishop called an archeparch:
- In the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church there is a single metropolis — the Metropolis of Pittsburgh
- The four Ukrainian Catholic eparchies constitute the second metropolia. Philadelphia is the metropolitan see.one
Cardinals
As of October 2022,[update] the Vatican has designated seven American metropolitan archbishops in the Latin Church as cardinals:
- Seán O'Malley – Archdiocese of Boston
- Blase Cupich – Archdiocese of Chicago
- Daniel DiNardo – Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
- Joseph Tobin – Archdiocese of Newark
- Timothy Dolan – Archdiocese of New York
- Wilton Gregory – Archdiocese of Washington
One suffragan diocese is led by a cardinal:
- Robert W. McElroy – Diocese of San Diego
Four American archdioceses have retired archbishops who served as cardinal-archbishops:
- Adam Maida – Archdiocese of Detroit
- Roger Mahony – Archdiocese of Los Angeles
- Justin Rigali – Archdiocese of Philadelphia
- Donald Wuerl – Archdiocese of Washington
Three American archdioceses have former archbishops whom the Vatican created as cardinals after they completed their tenures as diocesan archbishops:
- Edwin O'Brien – Archdiocese of Baltimore
- James Stafford – Archdiocese of Denver
- Raymond Burke – Archdiocese of St. Louis
Latin church archbishops and bishops
Bishops emeriti
Eastern Catholic eparchs
Metropolis of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
The Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Province of Philadelphia consists of four eparchies of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and covers the entire United States.
| Metropolia | Metropolia map | Archeparchy or eparchy | Archeparch or eparch | Title | Eparch coat of arms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | 
|
Archeparchy of Philadelphia | Borys Gudziak | Archeparch of Philadelphia | 
|
| Eparchy of Chicago | Venedykt Aleksiychuk | Eparch of Chicago | 
| ||
| Eparchy of Parma | Bohdan Danylo | Eparch of Parma | 
| ||
| Eparchy of Stamford | Paul Patrick Chomnycky | Eparch of Stamford | 
|
Metropolis of Pittsburgh for Ruthenians
The Metropolis of Pittsburgh is a sui iuris metropolitan province of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. The metropolis consists of four eparchies and covers the entire United States. It's geographic remit also includes the Exarchate of Toronto in Canada.
The metropolis has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all Ruthenian Catholics in the United States, as well as other Byzantine Rite Catholics without an established hierarchy in the country.
| Metropolia | Metropolia map | Archeparchy or eparchy | Archeparch or eparch | Title | Eparch coat of arms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 
|
Archeparchy of Pittsburgh | William C. Skurla | Archeparch of Pittsburgh | |
| Eparchy of Parma | Robert Mark Pipta | Eparch of Parma | |||
| Eparchy of Passaic | Kurt Burnette | Eparch of Passaic | 
| ||
| Eparchy of Phoenix | Sede vacante | Eparch of Phoenix |
American eparchies that are immediately subject to the Holy See
The other Eastern Catholic Churches with eparchies (dioceses) or exarchates established in the United States are not grouped into metropoliae. All are immediately subject to the Holy See, with limited oversight by the head of their respective sui iuris churches.
| Church | Eparchy | Eparch | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaldean Catholic Church | Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Detroit | Francis Y. Kalabat | Eparch of Detroit |
| Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of San Diego | Emanuel Hana Shaleta | Eparch of San Diego | |
| Maronite Church | Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Brooklyn | Gregory John Mansour | Eparch of Brooklyn |
| Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Los Angeles | Abdallah Elias Zaidan | Eparch of Los Angeles | |
| Melkite Greek Catholic Church | Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton | Francois Beyrouti | Eparch of Newton |
| Syriac Catholic Church | Syrian Catholic Eparchy of Newark | Yousif Habash | Eparch of Newark |
| Syro-Malabar Catholic Church | Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Chicago | Joy Alappatt | Eparch of Chicago |
American-Canadian eparchies that are immediately subject to the Holy See
Several Eastern Catholic churches have jurisdictions that include members and congregations in both the United States and Canada.
| Church | Eparchy | Eparch | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armenian Catholic Church | Armenian Catholic Eparchy of the US and Canada | Mikaël Mouradian | Eparch |
| Romanian Catholic Church | Romanian Catholic Eparchy of Canton | John Michael Botean | Eparch of Canton |
| Syro-Malankara Catholic Church | Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy of the US and Canada | Philippos Stephanos Thottathil | Eparch |
| Coptic Catholic Church | Pola Ayoub Matta Usama Shafik Akhnoukh | Apostolic Visitator[8] |
List of eparchs and archeparch emeritus
| Archeparch or Eparch |
Title | Archeparchy or eparchy |
|---|---|---|
| Ibrahim Ibrahim | eparch emeritus | Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Detroit |
| Sarhad Yawsip Jammo | eparch emeritus | Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of San Diego |
| Nicholas James Samra | eparch emeritus | Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton |
| John Michael Kudrick | eparch emeritus | Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Parma |
| John Stephen Pazak | eparch emeritus | Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix |
| Jacob Angadiath | eparch emeritus | Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Chicago |
| Stefan Soroka | archeparch emeritus | Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia |
| Basil H. Losten | eparch emeritus | Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford |
Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special diocese comprising Anglican converts to Catholicism. Under canon law, if the personal ordinary is not a bishop, he is treated as the equivalent of a diocesan bishop.[9][1]
| Province | Ecclesiastical province map |
Diocese coat of arms |
Bishop | Title | Bishop coat of arms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter |  |
 |
Steven Joseph Lopes | Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter | 
|
American bishops serving outside the United States
Bishops serving in Vatican City
- Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., adjunct secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
- Kevin Joseph Farrell, camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life[10]
- James Michael Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
- Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.[11]
Bishops emeriti who served in Vatican City
- Edwin Frederick O'Brien, grand master emeritus of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
- James Francis Stafford, major penitentiary emeritus of the Apostolic Penitentiary
- Raymond Leo Burke, patron emeritus of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta[12]
Bishops serving in Vatican Diplomatic Corps
- Charles Daniel Balvo, apostolic nuncio to Australia (Archdiocese of New York)
- Michael Wallace Banach, apostolic nuncio to Hungary (Diocese of Worcester)
- Charles John Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines (Archdiocese of New York)
- Kevin Stuart Randall, apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh (Diocese of Norwich)
- Peter Brian Wells, apostolic nuncio to Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos (Diocese of Tulsa)
Bishops emeriti who served in Vatican Diplomatic Corps
- Edward Joseph Adams, apostolic nuncio emeritus to Great Britain (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- Michael A. Blume, S.V.D., apostolic nuncio emeritus to Hungary (Chicago Province of the Society of the Divine Word)
- James Green, apostolic nuncio emeritus to Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- Thomas Edward Gullickson, apostolic nuncio emeritus to Switzerland and Liechtenstein (Diocese of Sioux Falls)
- Joseph Marino, president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (Diocese of Birmingham)
Bishops serving in foreign sees
- Christopher Cardone, O.P., archbishop of Honiara (Solomon Islands)
- Arthur Colgan, C.S.C., auxiliary bishop of Chosica (Peru)
- Robert Herman Flock, bishop of San Ignacio de Velasco (Bolivia)
Bishop emeritus who served in a foreign see
- Gordon Bennett, S.J., bishop emeritus of Mandeville (Jamaica)
Non-American bishops serving in the United States
- Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S. (Nunciature of the Holy See in Washington, D.C.)[13]
- Gabriele Giordano Caccia, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
- Italo Dell'Oro, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
See also
- Appointment of Catholic bishops
- Catholic Church and politics in the United States
- Catholic Church by country
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Christianity in the United States
- Global organisation of the Catholic Church
- Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of Puerto Rico
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- History of Roman Catholicism in the United States
- List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
- List of Catholic dioceses in the United States
- List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See
- List of Roman Catholic apostolic administrations
- List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including episcopal conferences and USCCB regions)
- List of Roman Catholic military dioceses
- List of Roman Catholic titular sees
Footnotes
- ^ a b Hays, Charlotte (January 3, 2012). "Carrying Anglican Patrimony Into the Catholic Church: Former Episcopal bishop of southwestern diocese, a married father and grandfather, will lead Church's personal ordinariate for Anglicans and Episcopalians who become Catholic". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions about Archbishops | USCCB". www.usccb.org. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ "Archbishop Celestine Joseph Damiano [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- ^ "Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña (C.E.P.)". GCatholic.org. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
- ^ Cheney, David M. "Catholic Church in Puerto Rico". Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ "Catholic Church in United States of America [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ "Resignations and Appointments, 11.11.2023". Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ "Pope Francis Nominates Most Reverend Pola Ayoub Matta Usama Shafik Akhnoukh as Apostolic Visitator for the Coptic Catholic Faithful in the United States". Retrieved December 16, 2023.
- ^ See: Hierarchy of the Catholic Church#Equivalents of diocesan bishop in law.
- ^ Farrell, Kevin Joseph. "Kevin Joseph Cardinal Farrell". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- ^ "Resignations and Appointments, 30.01.2023" (Press release). Holy See Press Office. January 30, 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ "Rinunce e nomine". press.vatican.va. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Simpson, Victor L (October 19, 2011). "Pope names US envoy". philly.com. Associated Press. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
The Washington post is a key one in the Vatican diplomatic corps both for the importance of the U.S. in world affairs and for its large Catholic population, which is counted on for its financial help to the Holy See and its contributions to papal charities.
Resources
- "List of Bishops". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
- "GCatholic Bishops".
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This page was last edited on 10 May 2024, at 18:48