List of Catholic bishops in the United States explained

The following is a list of bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, including Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Catholic Church in the United States comprises:

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) consists of all active and retired bishops—diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary—in the fifty states of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

There are several dioceses in the five inhabited territories of the U.S.:

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.[4]

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.[5]

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 11% of all active American bishops.

The following nations have 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:

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:

Cardinals

five metropolitan archdioceses are led by a cardinal:

One suffragan diocese is led by a cardinal:

Five archdioceses have a retired archbishop who served as cardinal-archbishop:

Three archdioceses have a former archbishop who was created a cardinal after he completed his tenure as diocesan archbishop:

Latin church archbishops and bishops

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference

Ecclesiastical
province map
Archdiocese or diocese Diocese coat
of arms
Archbishop or bishop Title Bishop coat
of arms

Ecclesiastical Province of San Juan

(This province covers the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.)

Archdiocese of San JuanRoberto González NievesArchbishop of San Juan
Tomás González GonzálezAuxiliary Bishop of San Juan
Diocese of AreciboAlberto Arturo Figueroa MoralesBishop of Arecibo
Diocese of CaguasEusebio Ramos MoralesBishop of Caguas
Diocese of Fajardo–HumacaoLuis Miranda RiveraBishop of Fajardo–Humacao
Diocese of MayagüezÁngel Luis Ríos MatosBishop of Mayagüez
Diocese of PonceRubén González MedinaBishop of Ponce

Episcopal Conference of the Pacific

Ecclesiastical
province map
Archdiocese or diocese Diocese coat
of arms
Archbishop or bishop Title Bishop coat
of arms

Ecclesiastical Province of Agaña

Archdiocese of Agaña
(This diocese covers the U.S. territory of Guam.)
Ryan Pagente JimenezArchbishop of Agaña
Diocese of Chalan Kanoa
(This diocese covers the U.S. territory of the Northern Mariana Islands.)
Latin: [[Sede vacante]]Bishop of Chalan Kanoa

Ecclesiastical Province of Samoa–Apia

Diocese of Samoa–Pago Pago
(This diocese covers the U.S. territory of American Samoa.)
Kolio EtualeBishop of Samoa–Pago Pago

Bishops emeriti

Eastern Catholic eparchs

Metropolis of Philadelphia for Ukrainians

See: The Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Province of Philadelphia consists of four eparchies of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and covers the entire United States.

class=unsortableMetropolia!class=unsortableMetropolia map!Archeparchy or eparchyEparchy's
Coat of Arms
Archeparch or eparch!TitleEparch's
Coat of arms
PhiladelphiaArcheparchy of PhiladelphiaBorys GudziakArcheparch of Philadelphia
Eparchy of ChicagoVenedykt AleksiychukEparch of Chicago
Eparchy of ParmaBohdan DanyloEparch of Parma
Eparchy of StamfordPaul Patrick ChomnyckyEparch 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.

class=unsortableMetropolia!class=unsortableMetropolia map!Archeparchy or eparchyEparchy's
Coat of Arms
Archeparch or eparch!TitleEparch's
Coat of arms
PittsburghArcheparchy of PittsburghWilliam C. SkurlaArcheparch of Pittsburgh
Eparchy of ParmaRobert Mark PiptaEparch of Parma
Eparchy of PassaicKurt BurnetteEparch of Passaic
Eparchy of PhoenixLatin: [[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.

ChurchEparchyEparchy's
Coat of Arms
EparchTitleEparch's
Coat of Arms
Chaldean Catholic ChurchChaldean Catholic Eparchy of DetroitFrancis Y. KalabatEparch of Detroit
Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of San DiegoEmanuel Hana ShaletaEparch of San Diego
Maronite ChurchMaronite Catholic Eparchy of BrooklynGregory John MansourEparch of Brooklyn
Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Los AngelesAbdallah Elias ZaidanEparch of Los Angeles-Melkite Greek Catholic ChurchMelkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of NewtonFrancois BeyroutiEparch of Newton
Syriac Catholic ChurchSyrian Catholic Eparchy of NewarkYousif HabashEparch of Newark
Syro-Malabar Catholic ChurchSyro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of ChicagoJoy AlappattEparch 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.

ChurchEparchyEparchy's
Coat of Arm
EparchTitleEparch's
Coat of Arms
Armenian Catholic ChurchArmenian Catholic Eparchy of the US and CanadaMikaël MouradianEparch
Parsegh BaghdassarianAuxiliary Eparch
Romanian Catholic ChurchRomanian Catholic Eparchy of CantonJohn Michael BoteanEparch of Canton
Syro-Malankara Catholic ChurchSyro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy of the US and CanadaPhilippos Stephanos ThottathilEparch
Coptic Catholic Church(not a formal ecclesiastical jurisdiction)Pola Ayoub Matta Usama Shafik AkhnoukhApostolic Visitator[8]

List of eparchs emeriti and archeparch emeritus

Archeparch or Eparch
TitleArcheparchy or eparchy
Ibrahim Ibrahimeparch emeritusChaldean Catholic Eparchy of Detroit
eparch emeritus
Nicholas James Samraeparch emeritusMelkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Newton
eparch emeritus
John Stephen Pazakeparch emeritusRuthenian Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix
Jacob Angadiatheparch emeritusSyro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Chicago
Stefan Sorokaarcheparch emeritusUkrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia

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]

American bishops serving outside the United States

Bishops serving in Vatican City

Bishops emeriti who served in Vatican City

Bishops serving in the Diplomatic Corps of the Holy See

See also: List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See.

Bishops emeriti who served in the Diplomatic Corps of the Holy See

Bishops serving in foreign sees

Bishops emeriti who served in a foreign see

Non-American bishops serving in the United States

See also

Resources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 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 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190619225156/http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/carrying-anglican-patrimony-into-the-catholic-church . June 19, 2019 . January 12, 2012 . National Catholic Register .
  2. Web site: Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña (C.E.P.) . February 13, 2011 . GCatholic.org.
  3. Web site: Cheney . David M. . Catholic Church in Puerto Rico . July 27, 2009.
  4. Web site: Frequently Asked Questions about Archbishops USCCB . 2023-06-07 . www.usccb.org . en.
  5. Web site: Archbishop Celestine Joseph Damiano [Catholic-Hierarchy] ]. 2023-06-07 . www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  6. Web site: Catholic Church in United States of America [Catholic-Hierarchy] ]. 2024-02-05 . www.catholic-hierarchy.org.
  7. News: Resignations and Appointments, 11.11.2023 . November 11, 2023.
  8. News: Pope Francis Nominates Most Reverend Pola Ayoub Matta Usama Shafik Akhnoukh as Apostolic Visitator for the Coptic Catholic Faithful in the United States . December 16, 2023.
  9. See: Hierarchy of the Catholic Church#Equivalents of diocesan bishop in law.
  10. Web site: Farrell . Kevin Joseph . Kevin Joseph Cardinal Farrell. catholic-hierarchy.org . 12 September 2019.
  11. April 20, 2023 . January 30, 2023 . Holy See Press Office . Resignations and Appointments, 30.01.2023 .
  12. Web site: Rinunce e nomine . 2023-07-24 . press.vatican.va.
  13. News: Victor L . Simpson . Pope names US envoy . October 19, 2011 . Associated Press . philly.com . 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..