Who Ordains a Bishop?

“WHO EVEN ORDAINS A NEW BISHOP?”
This is a question that I’ve heard repeated several times over the last two weeks. We know that, after a man in the seminary has finished his studies and formation and is ready to become a priest, his bishop is the one who ordains him to the priesthood. We also know that the bishop is the one who ordains men to the diaconate. But who ordains a man to become a bishop?

To ordain a bishop (which is also referred to as “consecrating a bishop”), you need two things: First, you need another bishop; second, you need approval from the Holy Father. In today’s Church, the pope must approve the ordination of a new bishop, who may be consecrated only by other bishops. Let’s explore why.

Why can only a bishop
ordain another bishop?
Bishops are, the Second
Vatican Council teaches, successors
to the apostles. In the
Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
Gentium, the Second Vatican
Council reiterates the calling
and mission of the Apostles:
“The Lord Jesus, after praying
to the Father, calling to Himself
those whom He desired,
appointed twelve to be with
Him, and whom He would
send to preach the Kingdom of
God; [...] That divine mission,
entrusted by Christ to the
apostles, will last until the end
of the world, since the Gospel
they are to teach is for all time
the source of all life for the
Church. And for this reason
the apostles, appointed as rulers
in this society, took care to
appoint successors (emphasis
added).” (Lumen Gentium III:19-20)

Christ founded his Church on the apostles, who in turn appointed successors. The leadership of the Church is in direct succession to the apostles. We profess this to be true every time we make the Profession of Faith: “I believe in one, holy, cath-olic, and apostolic Church” (emphasis added). The Church is apostolic because the present leadership can 
trace itself back to the first leaders of the Church, the apostles. The Church is also apostolic in the sense that it professes the same doctrine and Christian way of life taught by the apostles. It is the mission of the bishops to teach, defend, and hand on the faith.St. Irenaeus (130-202 AD) testifies that “through those who were appointed bishops by the apostles, and through their successors down in our own time, the apostolic tradition is manifested and preserved”(Lumen Gentium III:20).The preservation of the apostolic line is of such importance to the Church that the Rite of Ordination of a Bishop calls for three bishops to be present. It states: “In accord with the usage handed down from antiquity, the principal ordaining Bishop should join to himself at least two other Bishops in celebrating the Ordination” (Rite of Ordination, Introduction, no. 16). To preserve the apostolic line, (at least) three bishops are present for the ordination.Does it matter which bishop ordains another bishop? Yes and no. All bishops are successors of the apostles, and so, with proper permissions, are capable of ordaining another bishop. So, a new bishop of Kalamazoo does not have to be ordained by the previous bishop of Kalamazoo. Rather, as directed by the Rite of Ordination and according to an ancient practice: “As a rule, the Metropolitan [i.e. the archbishop in charge of the region] should ordain a bishop [of territories within his region]” (Rite of Ordination, Introduction, no. 16).

Why do you need approval from the Holy Father?
While individual bishops are placed in charge of a particular Local Church (e.g., the Diocese of Kalamazoo), every bishop throughout the world together forms the College (i.e., the “collegi-um”) of Bishops. The Second Vatican Council teaches that Jesus called and formed his apostles “after the manner of a college or a stable group, over which He placed Peter chosen from among them” (Lumen Gentium, III:19).

Just as the first apostles were formed as a stable group in which each member has similar authori-ty, so too are their successors formed in a similar way. Only by the Lord’s divine election did He place Peter at the head of the College of the Apostles.

Therefore, similarly, the pope, as successor of Peter, is placed at the head of the College of Bishops. The pope is a visible sign of unity for the Church spread throughout the world. To be a Catholic, and more, to be a successor to the apostles, is to be in union with the successor to the head of the apostles, that is, with the Holy Father.During the Mass of the Ordination of a Bishop, when the candidate for ordination is presented to the principal ordaining bishop, the Local Church (represented by one of our priests) addresses the principal ordaining bishop in these words: “Most Reverend Father, the Church of Kalamazoo asks you to ordain this Priest to the responsibility of the Episcopate.” The principal ordaining bishop replies with a unique yet crucial question: “Have you a mandate from the Apostolic See?” That is, “Have you permission from the Holy Father?”

After an answer in the affirmative, the bishop orders that the mandate be read aloud for all gath-ered in the cathedral — and those listening in our live stream — to hear.To be a bishop is to serve as a modern-day apostle, entrusted with the teaching mission of the Church. Therefore, to ordain a bishop, a new successor to the apostles, you need two things: an-other bishop and approval from the Holy Father.