How Does a Catholic Priest Become a Bishop?
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The process of choosing a priest to serve as a bishop is an ongoing process that takes four to eight months on average. The first step in this process is for current bishops to watch priests to determine which priests have the qualities that a bishop needs to serve his province. Once the bishop has determined whether a priest in his province would be a good bishop, he will submit that priest's name to his archbishop.
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Once the archbishop has the names of candidates, he will pray for a decision. After he has done this, he will gather all of the bishops of his province together to vote on a new bishop. The candidates who pass the vote move on to the apostolic nuncio, who serves as an ambassador to a specific nation. As of March 2009, the apostolic nuncio for the United States is the Most Rev. Gabriel Montalvo. When the apostolic nuncio comes to a decision about each of the candidates, he sends his individual reports to the Congregation for Bishops.
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The Congregation for Bishops reads through the apostolic nuncio's reports on each candidate. While the Congregation for Bishops won't change anything on the apostolic nuncio's reports, it will vote on the candidates and attach a recommendation to each candidate. This packet of information is sent to the pope in Rome.
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Technically, the pope can appoint whomever he chooses to a position of nishop. However, the pope usually appoints bishops from the candidate list he receives. The pope will pray for the Holy Spirit to lead him to the candidate that God wants in the position. Once that is done, he contacts the apostolic nuncio and asks for him to offer the position to the candidate. If the candidate accepts the appointment, the pope is notified and an official date is set for the announcement.
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