The
bishops, who possess the fullness of orders, and therefore the fullness of both priesthood and diaconate, are as a body (the
College of Bishops) considered the successors of the
Apostles and are "constituted Pastors in the Church, to be the teachers of doctrine, the priests of sacred worship and the ministers of governance" and "represent the Church." In 2012, there were 5,133 Catholic bishops; at the end of 2021, there were 5,340 Catholic bishops. The Pope himself is a bishop (the bishop of Rome) and traditionally uses the title "Venerable Brother" when writing formally to another bishop. The typical role of a bishop is to provide pastoral governance for a
diocese. and a mandatum from the Holy See is required.
Ordination to the episcopate is considered the completion of the sacrament of Holy Orders; even when a bishop retires from his active service, he remains a bishop, since the ontological effect of Holy Orders is permanent. On the other hand, titles such as archbishop or patriarch imply no ontological alteration, and existing bishops who rise to those offices do not require further ordination. Sacramentally, all bishops are equal. According to jurisdiction, office, and privileges, however, various ranks are distinguished, as indicated below. All bishops are "vicars of Christ".
Pope (Bishop of Rome) The pope is the bishop of
Rome. He is also, by virtue of that office:
Offices and titles "Pope" is a pronominal
honorific, not an office or a title, meaning "Father" (the common honorific for all clergy). The honorific "pope" was from the early 3rd century used for any bishop in the West, and is known in
Greek as far back as Homer's
Odyssey (6:57). In the East, "pope" is still a common form of address for clergy in the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the
Russian Orthodox Church, and is the style of the bishop of Alexandria.
Pope Marcellinus (died 304) is the first Bishop of Rome shown in sources to have had the title "pope" used of him. From the 6th century, the imperial chancery of Constantinople normally reserved this designation for the Bishop of Rome. From the early 6th century, it began to be confined in the West to the Bishop of Rome, a practice that was firmly in place by the 11th century, when Pope Gregory VII declared it reserved for the Bishop of Rome. As bishop of the Church of Rome, he is successor to the co-patrons of that local church,
Saint Peter and
Saint Paul. As such, the Church of Rome, and its bishop, has always had a prominence in the Catholic communion and at least to some degree
primacy among his peers, the other bishops, as Peter had a certain primacy among his peers, the other apostles. The exact nature of that primacy is one of the most significant ecumenical issues of the age, and has developed as a doctrine throughout the entire history of the Catholic Church. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting the
Second Vatican Council's document , states: "The
pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, 'is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.'" Communion with the bishop of Rome has become such a significant identifier of Catholic identity that at times the
Catholic Church has been known in its entirety as "
Roman Catholic," though this is inaccurate in Catholic theology (
ecclesiology). Three other of the pope's offices stem directly from his office as bishop of the
Church of Rome. As the
Latin Church owes its identity and development to its origins in the liturgical, juridical, and theological patrimony of Rome, the bishop of Rome is de facto the
patriarch of the Latin Church. According to Pope Benedict XVI, there has been much 'confusion' between the pope's primacy as patriarch of the western church and his primacy as first patriarch among equals, that this "failure to distinguish" between the roles and responsibilities of these two distinct positions leads in time to the "extreme centralization of the Catholic Church" and the schism between East and West. As the first local Church of Italy, the bishop of Rome is the
Primate of Italy and is empowered to appoint the president of the Italian Bishops' Conference. The Church of Rome is also the principal church of the
Province of Rome, so the bishop of Rome is
Archbishop and Metropolitan of the
Roman province. As a bishop, the pope is referred to as a
Vicar of Christ. This title was common to all bishops from the fourth through twelfth centuries, reserved to the bishop of Rome from the twelfth through early twentieth centuries, and restored to all bishops at the Second Vatican Council. The pope resides in
Vatican City, an independent state within the city of Rome, set up by the 1929
Lateran Pacts between the
Holy See and Italy. As popes were sovereigns of the
papal states (754–1870), so do they exercise absolute civil authority in the microstate of
Vatican City since 1929. Ambassadors are accredited not to the Vatican City State but to the
Holy See, which was subject to international law even before the state was instituted. The body of officials that assist the Pope in governance of the church as a whole is known as the
Roman curia. The term "Holy See" (i.e. of Rome) is generally used only of the Pope and the curia, because the
Code of Canon Law, which concerns governance of the Latin Church as a whole and not internal affairs of the see (diocese) of Rome itself, necessarily uses the term in this technical sense. Finally, the title "
Servant of the servants of God" was an addition of
Pope Gregory the Great, a reminder that in Christianity, leadership is always about service/ministry (
diakonia). The
style of address for the bishop of Rome is "His Holiness".
Election The present rules governing the election of a pope are found in the apostolic constitution
Universi Dominici Gregis. This deals with the powers, from the death of a pope to the announcement of his successor's election, of the cardinals and the departments of the Roman curia; with the funeral arrangements for the dead pope; and with the place, time and manner of voting of the meeting of the cardinal electors, a meeting known as a
conclave. This word is derived from Latin
com- (together) and
clavis (key) and refers to the locking away of the participants from outside influences, a measure that was introduced first as a means instead of forcing them to reach a decision. Like all bishops, the pope has the option of
resigning, though unlike other bishops, offering resignation is not required. The best known cases are those of
Pope Celestine V in 1294,
Pope Gregory XII in 1415 and
Pope Benedict XVI in 2013. Approximately 10% of all popes left or were removed from office before death.
Eastern patriarchs The heads of some autonomous (in
Latin,
sui iuris)
particular churches consisting of several local churches (dioceses) have the title of
Patriarch. The pope, as patriarch of the Latin Church, is the head of the only
sui iuris Church in the West, leading to the title
Patriarch of the West. Eastern patriarchs are elected by the
synod of bishops of their particular church. The patriarchs who head autonomous particular churches are: • The
Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria (
Coptic Catholic Church) • The
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch (
Melkite Greek Catholic Church) • The
Maronite Patriarch of Antioch (
Maronite Church) • The
Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch (
Syriac Catholic Church) • The
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylonia (
Chaldean Catholic Church) • The
Armenian Catholic Patriarch of Cilicia (
Armenian Catholic Church) These have authority not only over the bishops of their particular church, including metropolitans, but also directly over all the faithful. Eastern Catholic patriarchs have
precedence over all other bishops, with the exceptions laid down by the Pope. The honorary title prefixed to their names is "His Beatitude".
Major archbishops , the Major Archbishop of Kyiv–Galicia since 2011 Other autonomous particular churches are headed by a
major archbishop. The
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church uses the title
Catholicos for their major archbishop. With few exceptions, the authority of a major archbishop in his
sui iuris church is equivalent to that of a patriarch in his church. This less prestigious office was established in 1963 for those Eastern Catholic Churches which have developed in size and stability to allow full self-governance if historical, ecumenical, or political conditions do not allow their elevation to a patriarchate. At present, there are four major archbishops:
Latin patriarchs There are also titular patriarchs in the Latin Church, who, for various historical reasons, were granted the title, but never the corresponding office and responsibilities of "patriarch". They include the
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, the
Patriarch of Venice, the
Patriarch of Lisbon, and the
Patriarch of the East Indies. All of these offices are honorary, and the patriarchs are not the heads of autonomous particular churches. The Patriarch of the East Indies is the archbishop of
Goa, while the other patriarchs are the archbishops of the named cities. The title of
Patriarch of the West Indies was in the past granted to some Spanish bishops (not always of the same see), but is long in abeyance.
Cardinals Cardinals are princes of the church appointed by the Pope. He generally chooses bishops who head
departments of the
Roman Curia or important
episcopal sees throughout the world. As a whole, the cardinals compose a
College of Cardinals which advises the Pope, and those cardinals under the age of 80 at the death or resignation of a Pope
elect his successor. Their heraldic achievement is surmounted by the red
galero and
tassels as a form of martyred position in the church. Not all cardinals are bishops.
Domenico Bartolucci,
Karl Josef Becker,
Albert Vanhoye,
Roberto Tucci and
Timothy Radcliffe are examples of 21st-century non-bishop cardinals. The
1917 Code of Canon Law introduced the requirement that a cardinal must be at least a priest. Previously, they needed only to be in
minor orders and not even
deacons.
Teodolfo Mertel, who died in 1899, was the last non-priest cardinal. In 1962,
Pope John XXIII made it a rule that a man who has been nominated a cardinal is required to be consecrated a bishop, if not one already, but some ask for and obtain dispensation from this requirement. It is rare that the Pope will appoint Cardinals who are priests only and not consecrated as a bishop. The 1917 Code of Canon Law, continuing the tradition observed, for instance, at the
First Vatican Council, laid down that cardinals have
precedence over all other prelates, including non-cardinal patriarchs. The
1983 Code of Canon Law did not deal with questions of precedence. The cardinalate is not an integral part of the theological structure of the Catholic Church, but largely an honorific distinction that has its origins in the 1059 assignation of the right of electing the Pope exclusively to the principal clergy of Rome and the bishops of the seven
suburbicarian dioceses. It once involved authority over all the other sees in the country or region, but now only gives a "prerogative of honor" with no power of governance unless an exception is made in certain matters by a privilege granted by the Holy See or by an approved custom. The title is usually assigned to the
ordinary of the first diocese or the oldest archdiocese in the country. He also has the power to name a
diocesan administrator for a
vacant suffragan see if the diocesan council of consultors fails to properly elect one. His diocesan tribunal additionally serves by default as the ecclesiastical
court of appeal for suffragans (court of second instance), and the metropolitan has the option of judging those appeals personally. The metropolitans of a given territory are also involved in the selection of bishops. Every three years, they compile a list of
promovendis – a list of priests who may be suitable for the office of bishop. This is forwarded to the local
apostolic nuncio, who evaluates the candidates in a consultative and confidential process. The nuncio in turn forwards the best candidates to the
Dicastery for Bishops in Rome, who conduct a final evaluation of candidates and offer their findings to the pope for his final decision of appointment. Eastern Metropolitans in patriarchal or major archiepiscopal churches have a level of authority similar to that of Latin metropolitans, subject to the specific laws and customs of their
sui iuris church. Eastern metropolitans who
head a metropolitan
sui iuris church have much greater authority within their church, although it is less than that of a major archbishop or patriarch. All metropolitans have the title of
Archbishop, and the metropolitan see is usually referred to as an
archdiocese or archeparchy, a title held not only by the 553 metropolitan sees but also by 77 other sees. An exception is the metropolitan
Diocese of Rome.
Archbishops The title of
archbishop is held not only by bishops who head metropolitan sees, but also by those who head archdioceses that are not metropolitan sees (most of these are in Europe and the
Levant). In addition, it is held by certain other bishops, referred to as "Titular Archbishops" (see "
Other Bishops" below) who have been given no-longer-residential archdioceses as their titular sees—many of these in administrative or diplomatic posts, for instance as
papal nuncios or secretaries of
curial congregations. The bishop of a non-archiepiscopal see may be given the personal title of archbishop without also elevating his see (such a bishop is known as an
archbishop ad personam), though this practice has seen significantly reduced usage since the
Second Vatican Council.
Diocesan bishops The bishop or eparch of a see, even if he does not also hold a title such as archbishop, metropolitan, major archbishop, patriarch or pope, is the centre of unity for his
diocese or
eparchy, and, as a member of the College of Bishops, shares in responsibility for governance of the whole church (cf.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 886). Within the Catholic Church the following posts have similarities to that of a diocesan bishop, but are not necessarily held by a bishop.
Equivalents of diocesan bishops in law Canon 368 of the
1983 Code of Canon Law lists five Latin Church jurisdictional areas that are considered equivalent to a diocese. These are headed by: • A
Territorial Prelate, formerly called a Prelate
nullius dioceseos (of no diocese), in charge of a geographical area that has not yet been raised to the level of diocese • A
Territorial Abbot, in charge of an area, which in mission countries can be quite vast, associated with an abbey • A
Vicar Apostolic (normally a bishop of a titular see), in charge of an apostolic vicariate, usually in a mission country, not yet ready to be made a diocese • A
Prefect Apostolic (usually not a bishop), in charge of an apostolic prefecture, not yet ready to be made an apostolic vicariate • A
Permanent Apostolic Administrator, in charge of a geographical area that for serious reasons cannot be made a diocese. To these may be added: • An
Apostolic Exarch (normally a bishop of a titular see), in charge of an apostolic exarchate—not yet ready to be made an eparchy—for the faithful of an
Eastern Catholic Church in an area that is situated outside the home territory of that Eastern Church. • A
Patriarchal Exarch, a bishop in charge of a patriarchal exarchate—not yet ready to be made an eparchy—for the faithful of an
Eastern Catholic Church in an area situated within the home territory of that patriarchal Eastern Church. • A
Military Ordinary, serving Catholics in a country's armed forces • A
Personal Prelate, in charge of a group of persons without regard to geography: the only personal prelature existing is that of
Opus Dei. • An
apostolic administrator of a personal apostolic administration: only one exists, the
Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney • An ordinary of a
personal ordinariate for former Anglicans • A superior of an
autonomous mission Of somewhat similar standing is the
diocesan administrator (formerly called a vicar capitular) elected to govern a diocese during a vacancy. Apart from certain limitations of nature and law, he has, on a caretaker basis, the same obligations and powers as a diocesan bishop (canons 427–429 of the 1983
Code of Canon Law). Occasionally an
apostolic administrator is appointed by the Holy See to run a
vacant diocese, or even a diocese whose bishop is incapacitated or otherwise impeded.
Other bishops A diocesan bishop may have bishops who assist in his ministry. The
coadjutor bishop of a see has the right of succession on the death or resignation of the diocesan bishop, and, if the see is an archdiocese, holds the title of archbishop. Similarly, a retired diocesan bishop keeps his connection with the see to which he was appointed, and is known as bishop (or archbishop)
emeritus of that see. On the other hand, an
auxiliary bishop, who may also hold posts such as
vicar general or
episcopal vicar, is appointed bishop of a
titular see, a see that in the course of history has ceased to exist as an actual jurisdictional unit. Important titles or functions usually, but not necessarily, held by (arch)bishops who are not in charge of a diocese or an equivalent community include those of
Apostolic Delegate,
Apostolic Nuncio,
Papal Legate,
Patriarchal Vicar,
Pontifical Delegate. ==Ordinaries and local ordinaries==