The process of selecting a new bishop or auxiliary bishop for a diocese ultimately rests in the hands of the pope, but it’s the result of a collaborative process that goes through many stages. It begins at the local level and ends with a phone call to the bishop-elect from the papal nuncio, the pope’s representative to that country.
Bishop Earl Fernandes and his two predecessors as bishops of Columbus all say they had no idea the call was coming.
Bishop Fernandes at first wasn’t surprised to receive a call on March 21 from the nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, for the two had worked together in the nuncio’s office in Washington, D.C., for 3 ½ years.
Then-Father Fernandes was in a hallway just outside his office at Cincinnati St. Ignatius of Loyola Church at the time. “He (the nuncio) asked how I was doing, then followed with questions: ‘Where are you? Are you alone? Are you sitting down?’” Bishop Fernandes said. “I knew from working with him what those questions meant, and the message that would follow – that Pope Francis had appointed me to be a bishop.
“The nuncio then announced that the pope had chosen me to be bishop of the Diocese of Columbus. I was silent for a moment, then accepted the appointment. We talked about many things, and afterwards I began thinking about how my life was going to change.”
Bishop Fernandes was preceded by Bishop Robert Brennan. He was driving on the Long Island Expressway in January 2019 when the nuncio called to announce that he was being appointed bishop of Columbus. At the time, he was auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York.
“The nuncio asked me, ‘Are you alone?’ and then he asked, ‘Do you think you need to pull over?’” said Bishop Brennan, who has returned to New York as bishop of Brooklyn. “All I could think of was, ‘That happened a minute ago when you first called.’”
Bishop Brennan’s predecessor in Columbus, Bishop Emeritus Frederick Campbell, said the life-changing call came to him “out of the blue” in mid-October 2004 from Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, who was serving as nuncio then. Bishop Campbell, who at the time was auxiliary bishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis, said he asked for a few minutes to think about what his new appointment would mean, then gave an affirmative response when the nuncio called back to ask whether he would accept the position.
Despite a bishop’s prominence in the church and the community, the appointment process is bound by strict confidentiality. There’s no public speculation as to possible candidates and their merits for the position. Few if any people know with certainty who other than Bishop Fernandes might have been considered as Bishop Brennan’s possible successor, and those people aren’t telling.
The process for selecting a bishop for a diocese begins when a vacancy is created in that office through either the bishop’s death; his appointment to another position by the pope; his retirement at age 75, as was Bishop Campbell’s case; or his decision to retire for other reasons. Bishop Emeritus James Griffin, Bishop Campbell’s predecessor, retired because of health issues in October 2004 after 21 years as bishop of Columbus.
There is no set time frame concerning selection of a bishop. In the interim between the departure or death of one bishop and the consecration of his successor, an apostolic administrator is appointed to be in charge of a diocese.
Msgr. Stephan Moloney held that position in the Columbus diocese for the six-month period between Bishop Brennan’s departure and Bishop Fernandes’ installation. Bishop Campbell was administrator from the time his resignation was accepted in January 2019 until Bishop Brennan’s installation two months later.
Each diocese throughout the world is part of a larger group of dioceses known as a metropolitan province, which has an archbishop – a title that is symbolic and does not convey authority over other bishops. The six dioceses of Ohio all are part of the Cincinnati metropolitan province.
The selection of candidates for consideration to become bishop begins at the provincial level. Any bishop in a province is invited to submit names of priests he thinks possess the maturity, pastoral and spiritual qualities and other characteristics needed for a bishop.
The bishops of a province usually meet at least once a year, and the provincial archbishop at that time circulates the names submitted, along with a resume of each priest named. The bishops then discuss the merits of those priests and vote to decide who among them should be recommended to the nuncio to add to his list of potential bishops for dioceses anywhere in the United States. There is no lower or upper limit to the number of priests who may be recommended.
The nuncio is the pope’s personal representative to the nation – the church’s equivalent of an ambassador. Archbishop Pierre, a native of France who previously was nuncio of Mexico, Haiti and Uganda at various times, has some familiarity with Columbus because whoever serves as nuncio to the United States automatically is chancellor of the Pontifical College Josephinum, the only papal seminary outside of Italy. The bishop of Columbus is vice chancellor.
Bishop Fernandes also is familiar with the Josephinum because he has been one of its trustees since shortly after returning to Cincinnati in 2019 after working in the nuncio’s office.
Once the nuncio receives a list of candidates from a province, he conducts his own investigation to determine their suitability to be a bishop.
When a vacancy is created in the office of bishop for a diocese, the outgoing bishop or the administrator is asked to report to the nuncio on the condition of the diocese, in consultation with other diocesan officials.
During this period, the nuncio can consult with priests, previous bishops and laypersons of the diocese, as well as other bishops in the province and the president and vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Broad consultation is encouraged with regard to the needs of the diocese and not the names of specific candidates.
From these recommendations and the candidates’ list from the neighboring provinces, the nuncio creates a “short list” of potential bishops for a specific diocese. He then sends a questionnaire, to be completed in strictest confidentiality, to 20 or 30 people who know each of the priests and bishops being considered for the position.
This material is collected and reviewed by the nuncio, who prepares a report of approximately 20 pages, concluding with his selection of five potential candidates – called a terna – in which the candidates are listed alphabetically with the nuncio’s presence noted.
That report is sent to the prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops, who for the past 12 years has been Canadian-born Cardinal Marc Ouellet. If the appointment involves a bishop who is being promoted from auxiliary bishop or transferred from another diocese, the matter may be handled by the prefect and the staff. If the appointment is of a priest to become a bishop, as with Bishop Fernandes, the full congregation, which has about 15 members, usually is involved.
One of the congregation’s members is chosen to summarize the documentation and make a report to the full congregation, which generally meets twice a month on Thursdays and usually considers bishop candidates from four dioceses per session. After hearing the summary, the congregation discusses the appointment and usually votes either to follow the nuncio’s recommendation or to choose another of the candidates on the terna. It also has the option of asking that another terna be prepared.
At a private audience with the pope, usually on a Saturday, the prefect presents the congregation’s recommendations to the pope, given in a particular order with the congregation’s choice at the top. The pope then affirms the congregation’s recommendation, chooses another candidate on the terna, asks for a new terna to be submitted or, in the rarest of cases, chooses his own candidate.
The pope’s decision is then given to the congregation, the nuncio is informed and he makes the phone call. Once the pope’s appointment is accepted – it can be refused, but this is rare and must be for good reason – the nuncio arranges with the Vatican to make a public announcement of the appointment, usually within two to four weeks. During this period, the bishop-elect cannot tell anyone of his appointment.
After the appointment of a new bishop is announced, plans begin for his installation, which usually takes place at the diocese’s cathedral but can be at a larger venue so more people can attend. Bishop Fernandes was installed at Westerville St. Paul Church because its seating capacity of 1,500 is the largest of any church in the Diocese of Columbus.