The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

that oversees the selection of most new

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s. Its proposals require

papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The

Dicastery A dicastery (; ; from ) is the name of some departments in the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest C ...

also schedules the visits at five-year intervals ("''ad limina''") that bishops are required to make to Rome, when they meet with the pope and various departments of the Curia. It also manages the formation of new dioceses. It is one of the more influential Dicasteries, since it strongly influences the human resources policy of the church. The jurisdiction of the Dicastery does not extend to mission territories, under the Dicastery for Evangelization, or areas managed by the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (which has responsibility for all Eastern Catholics, and for

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Catholics in the Middle East and Greece). Where appointment of bishops and changes in diocesan boundaries require consultation with civil governments, the Secretariat of State has primary responsibility, but must consult the Dicastery for Bishops. The Dicastery also have oversight of investigations into allegations of abuse and negligence by bishops. The Dicastery for Bishops has jurisdiction over the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, and the dicastery's prefect also serves as the commission's president.

History

The Dicastery for Bishops has its origins in the "Congregation for the Erection of Churches and Consistorial Provisions" founded by

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

on 22 January 1588. Before the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

, when the pope announced the names of new cardinals at a Secret Consistory, that is, a consistory that only churchmen attended, the names of new cardinals would be read out, followed by those of archbishops and bishops. The name was changed from the Sacred Consistorial Congregation to the Congregation for Bishops in 1967. Between 30 June 2010 and 2023, its Prefect was Cardinal Marc Ouellet. Between 2023 and 8 May 2025, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost (who would become

Pope Leo XIV Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Francis Prevost, September 14, 1955) has been head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State since May 2025. He is the first pope to have been born in the United States and North America, the fir ...

) was its Prefect. On 13 July 2022,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

appointed women as members of this Dicastery for the first time, two religious and one laywoman (

Raffaella Petrini Raffaella Petrini (born 15 January 1969) is an Italian Catholic religious sister who has served as president of the Pontifical Commission and Governorate of Vatican City State since March 2025. She was Secretary General of the Governorate of V ...

Yvonne Reungoat Yvonne Reungoat (born 14 January 1945 in Plouénan, France) is a French religious sister, who is a former Superior General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. In July 2022, she has been appointed as a member in the Vatican's Dicastery f ...

, and María Lía Zervino).

Current procedure

The Dicastery's members who live in Rome meet every other Thursday for an entire morning. Appointments for four dioceses are reviewed in a typical session. Before the meeting, dicastery members are sent documentation on the candidates for each diocese. At the meeting, one member takes the role of the presenter (''ponente''), reviews the information and makes his own recommendation from the list (''terna'') of three candidates. Each member, in order of seniority, offers his assessment. The Dicastery's recommendations, including any doubts, questions or minority opinions, are sent to the pope. He usually approves the dicastery's decision, but may choose to send it back for further discussion and evaluation. The prefect then meets with the pope every Saturday and presents the recommendations of the dicastery. A few days later, the pope informs the dicastery of his decision. The dicastery then notifies the nuncio, who in turn contacts the candidate and asks if he will accept the appointment.

Course of Formation for New Bishops

Every September the Dicastery holds the "Annual Course of Formation for New Bishops", also known as "New Bishop School" and informally "Baby Bishop School". Attendance is mandatory for those ordained in the previous year. Topics are spiritual and practical, from imitating the leadership of Jesus to handling crises. There was a particular focus on "synodality", which was defined as listening and engaging the faithful. The event also encompasses meeting the pope. There are talks such as on the new media in relation to evangelisation; and the rapport between psychological development and spiritual commitment. There were also talks on administration, canon law, and the reform of the Roman Curia.

Leadership

Secretaries of the Congregation for the Erection of Churches and Consistorial Provisions (1588–1965)

* (1710–1730) * Carlo Gaetano Stampa (1735–1737) * Niccola Paracciani Clarelli (1860–1872?) * Carmine Gori-Merosi (1882–1886) * Carlo Nocella (1892–1903) * Gaetano de Lai (1908–1928) * Carlo Perosi (1928–1930) * Raffaele Rossi (1930–1948) *

Adeodato Giovanni Piazza Adeodato Giovanni Piazza, OCD (30 September 1884 – 30 November 1957) was an Italian friar of the Discalced Carmelite Order, who became a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and Patriarch of Venice, as well as a member of the Roman Curia i ...

(1948–1957) *

Marcello Mimmi Marcello Mimmi (18 July 1882 – 6 March 1961) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archdiocese of Naples, Archbishop of Naples from 1952 to 1957, and Secretary of the Congregation for Bish ...

(1957–1961) * Carlo Confalonieri (1961–1965)

Prefects

In 1965, the head of the congregation took the title prefect, while the prefect's deputy took that of secretary. * Carlo Confalonieri (1965–1973) * Sebastiano Baggio (1973–1984) * Bernardin Gantin (1984–1998) * Lucas Moreira Neves, OP (1998–2000) *

Giovanni Battista Re Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2020. He was elevated to the rank of Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal in 2001 and s ...

(2000–2010) * Marc Ouellet, PSS (2010–2023) * Robert Francis Prevost, OSA (2023–2025) ''(elected Pope Leo XIV at the

2025 papal conclave A conclave was held on 7 and 8 May 2025 to elect a new pope to succeed Pope Francis, Francis, who had died on 21 April 2025. Of the 135 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2025 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. Cardinal Piet ...

)''

Secretaries

The secretary of the Dicastery for Bishops is concurrently the secretary of the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

. During a

papal election A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around po ...

the secretary of the Dicastery acts as the secretary to the conclave. * Francesco Carpino (1961–1967) * Ernesto Civardi (1967–1979) * Lucas Moreira Neves, OP (1979–1987) *

(1987–1989) * Justin Francis Rigali (1989–1994) * Jorge María Mejía (1994–1998) * Francesco Monterisi (1998–2009) *

Manuel Monteiro de Castro Manuel Monteiro de Castro (born 29 March 1938) is a Portuguese prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1967 to 2009, with the rank of archbishop and the title of nuncio from 1985. His assignments ...

(2009–2012) * Lorenzo Baldisseri (2012–2013) * Ilson de Jesus Montanari (2013–present)

References

External links

*
The Roman Curia: Dicastery for Bishops
{{Authority control 1588 establishments in the Papal States Catholic organizations established in the 16th century Religious organizations established in the 1580s