An auxiliary bishop is a Catholic or Eastern Orthodox bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions.

Roman Catholicism

History

The history of the auxiliary bishop in the Catholic Church starts in the 6th century in Christian North Africa. At that time, the invasion of North Africa by Muslim Arab armies forced the bishops in that region to flee to Rome. The Catholic Church did not want to acknowledge that these dioceses had been permanently lost, so the popes kept reappointing their bishops. Over the centuries, these exiled bishops lived out their tenures in Rome, receiving financial support from the Vatican without exercising any real responsibilities. By the 15th century, the popes started assigning the bishops on a temporary basis to vacant dioceses in Europe.

  • Cardinal Kevin Farrell – Auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Washington in the United States, 2002 to 2007
  • Cardinal Fernando Natalio Chomalí Garib Auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile in Chile, 2006 to 2011

In 2017, Bishop Gregorio Rosa Chávez became one of the first Catholic auxiliary bishops to be appointed cardinal. At that time, he was serving as an auxiliary bishop of José Luis Escobar Alas, the archbishop of San Salvador.

Functions

In the Catholic Church, auxiliary bishops serve in a diocese under the authority of the diocesan bishop. However, the auxiliary bishops are fully consecrated, the same as the bishop, with the abilities to perform all the church sacraments and masses.

The bishop assigns the roles and duties of the auxiliary bishop. In many dioceses, the auxiliary bishop serves as the vicar general or episcopal vicar, both top administrative posts. Larger dioceses may have several auxiliary bishops, assigned as administrators of vicariates, deaneries or geographic regions. Auxiliary bishops are frequently appointed to minister to a particular ethnic group within the diocese.Auxiliary bishops frequently represent the bishop at parish events and official ceremonies.

A bishop can remove an auxiliary bishop from assigned positions or responsibilities, but only the pope can remove that cleric from the diocese.

Because the auxiliary bishop does not have his own territorial see, the pope appoints him as bishop of a titular see. A titular see is a defunct diocese within the church, frequently in any area that no longer has a Catholic population In the Serbian Orthodox Church, the office of auxiliary (vicar) bishop is entrusted to titular bishops, who are assigned with assisting diocesan bishops in various aspects of diocesan administration.

The Greek word protosyncellus defines an auxiliary bishop who has been elevated to the dignity of vicarian of another titular bishop, and who is assigned to assist and act on behalf of his episcopal authority over the jurisdiction of the episcopal see. For example, Teodosije Šibalić (titular bishop of Lipljan) was appointed auxiliary bishop to the Eparchy of Raška and Prizren in 2004.

See also

  • Suffragan bishop
  • Coadjutor bishop

References

  • USCCB – Appointing Bishops
  • Archdiocese of Indianapolis – "What does an auxiliary bishop do?"