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List of Catholic bishops in the United States
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The following is a list of bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States. The list also includes bishops in the American territories of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Catholic Church in the United States comprises:
- 176 Latin Church dioceses in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- 18 Eastern Catholic eparchies in the 50 states
- six Latin Church dioceses in Puerto Rico
- three Latin Church dioceses in American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands
- the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, for American military personnel and their dependents
- the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, a special diocese for former Anglicans who have been received into the full communion of the Catholic Church[1]
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) consists of all active and retired bishops—diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary—in the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The bishops in the five inhabited territories of the United States are members of different episcopal conferences:
- In Puerto Rico, the six bishops form their own episcopal conference, the Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña.[2][3]
- In the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Guam, the bishops belong to the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.
- In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the bishop is a member of the USCCB.
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Archbishops and bishops
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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 Dicastery for Bishops in Rome.[4]
- Most archdioceses and large dioceses have one or more auxiliary bishops, serving under the direction of the archbishop or bishop. After consultation with the Papal Nuncio to the United States, the pope appoints all auxiliary bishops.
- Some archdioceses and dioceses have a coadjutor archbishop or coadjutor bishop. The coadjutor assists an elderly or ailing archbishop or bishop with their administrative duties. After the archbishop or bishop retires or dies, the coadjutor normally succeeds him without an appointment by the pope. The pope appoints all coadjutors.
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]
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Foreign-born bishops serving in the United States
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In most nations that have a large Catholic population and are located in non-missionary geographical areas, the bishops are usually appointed from that country's native-born priests. An exception to this rule is the United States, which has a significant number of foreign-born bishops, with most serving as auxiliary bishops in culturally diverse dioceses. As of 2024, thirty-four active foreign-born bishops are serving in the United States, representing about 11% of all active American bishops.
- Nine bishops are from Mexico
- Five are from the Philippines
- Three are from Vietnam
- Three are from Poland
- Two are from Brazil
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.[citation needed]
Two archdioceses (Los Angeles and San Antonio) and seven dioceses (Charleston, Fall River, Las Cruces, Raleigh, Saint Thomas, Salt Lake City, and San Bernardino) are led by a foreign-born archbishop or bishop.[6] Two American archdioceses and two dioceses have more than one foreign-born active bishop assigned to them:
- Archdiocese of Los Angeles: (4) Archbishop Gomez and Bishops Szkredeka, Aclan, and Bahuth
- Diocese of Rockville Centre: (2) Bishops Fernandez and Zglejezewski
- Diocese of San Diego: (2) Bishops Pham and Pulido
- Archdiocese of Washington: (2) Bishops Esposito-Garcia and Menjivar-Ayala
Additionally, there are several dozen bishops currently serving in the United States who are first-generation American-born children of immigrant parents.
The majority of Eastern Rite Catholic bishops in the U.S. are foreign-born.
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Archeparchs
The United States has two Eastern Catholic metropoliae, each led by a metropolitan archbishop called an archeparch:
- In the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church there is a single metropolis — the Metropolis of Pittsburgh
- The four Ukrainian Catholic eparchies constitute the second metropolia. Philadelphia is the metropolitan see.
Popes
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, is the first American-born pope.
Cardinals
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Serving in the United States
Although the majority (53%) of the United States' Roman Catholic population now live in Western and Southern states, there are no active cardinals west of the Archdiocese of Chicago.[7]
As of January 2025,[update] four metropolitan archdioceses are led by a cardinal:
- Blase Cupich – Archdiocese of Chicago
- Timothy Dolan – Archdiocese of New York
- Joseph Tobin – Archdiocese of Newark
- Robert McElroy – Archdiocese of Washington
Six archdioceses have a retired archbishop who served as cardinal-archbishop:
- Seán O'Malley – Archdiocese of Boston
- Adam Maida – Archdiocese of Detroit
- Daniel DiNardo – Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
- Roger Mahony – Archdiocese of Los Angeles
- Justin Rigali – Archdiocese of Philadelphia
- Wilton Gregory – Archdiocese of Washington
- Donald Wuerl – Archdiocese of Washington
Three archdioceses have a former archbishop who was created a cardinal after he completed his tenure as diocesan archbishop:
- Edwin O'Brien – Archdiocese of Baltimore
- James Stafford – Archdiocese of Denver
- Raymond Burke – Archdiocese of St. Louis
Serving outside the United States
Two other American cardinals serve in the Holy See:
- Kevin Farrell − Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life
- James Harvey − archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
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Latin church archbishops and bishops
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United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
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Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference
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Episcopal Conference of the Pacific
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Bishops emeriti
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Eastern Catholic eparchs
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Metropolis of Philadelphia for Ukrainians
The Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Province of Philadelphia consists of four eparchies of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and covers the entire United States.
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.
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.
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.
List of eparchs emeriti and archeparch emeritus
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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][1]
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American bishops serving outside the United States
Bishops serving in Vatican City
- Pope Leo XIV (Robert Francis Prevost), Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome
- Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., adjunct secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
- Kevin Joseph Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church and prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life[10]
- James Michael Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
Bishops emeriti who served in Vatican City
- Raymond Leo Burke, patron emeritus of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta[11]
- Edwin Frederick O'Brien, grand master emeritus of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
- James Francis Stafford, major penitentiary emeritus of the Apostolic Penitentiary
Bishops serving in the Diplomatic Corps of the Holy See
- Charles Daniel Balvo, apostolic nuncio to Australia (Archdiocese of New York)
- Michael Wallace Banach, apostolic nuncio to Hungary (Diocese of Worcester)
- Charles John Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines (Archdiocese of New York)
- Kevin Stuart Randall, apostolic nuncio to Bangladesh (Diocese of Norwich)
- Peter Brian Wells, apostolic nuncio to Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos (Diocese of Tulsa)
Bishops emeriti who served in the Diplomatic Corps of the Holy See
- Edward Joseph Adams, apostolic nuncio emeritus to Great Britain (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- Michael A. Blume, S.V.D., apostolic nuncio emeritus to Hungary (Chicago Province of the Society of the Divine Word)
- James Green, apostolic nuncio emeritus to Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway (Archdiocese of Philadelphia)
- Thomas Edward Gullickson, apostolic nuncio emeritus to Switzerland and Liechtenstein (Diocese of Sioux Falls)
- Joseph Marino, president emeritus of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy (Diocese of Birmingham)
Bishops serving in foreign sees
- Christopher Cardone, O.P., archbishop of Honiara (Solomon Islands)
- Arthur Colgan, C.S.C., auxiliary bishop of Chosica (Peru)
- Robert Herman Flock, bishop of San Ignacio de Velasco (Bolivia)
Bishops emeriti who served in a foreign see
- Gordon Bennett, S.J., bishop emeritus of Mandeville (Jamaica)
- Robert J. Kurtz, C.R., bishop emeritus of Hamilton in Bermuda
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Non-American bishops serving in the United States
See also
- Appointment of Catholic bishops
- Catholic Church and politics in the United States
- Catholic Church by country
- Catholic Church in the United States
- Christianity in the United States
- Global organisation of the Catholic Church
- Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of Puerto Rico
- Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
- History of Roman Catholicism in the United States
- List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
- List of Catholic dioceses in the United States
- List of heads of the diplomatic missions of the Holy See
- List of Roman Catholic apostolic administrations
- List of Roman Catholic archdioceses (by country and continent)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (alphabetical)
- List of Roman Catholic dioceses (structured view) (including episcopal conferences and USCCB regions)
- List of Roman Catholic military dioceses
- List of Roman Catholic titular sees
Footnotes
Resources
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