Coadjutor bishop

A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to succeed the current bishop of a diocese.

Roman Catholic Church

In the Roman Catholic Church, a coadjutor bishop is a special kind of auxiliary bishop. Unlike auxiliary bishops, coadjutors are given the automatic right of succession to the episcopal see, meaning that when the diocesan bishop they are assisting dies, retires, resigns, or is reassigned, the coadjutor automatically becomes the next bishop of the particular church. Until then, the diocesan bishop appoints the coadjutor to act as vicar general.

In modern church practice, the appointment of a coadjutor is usually done in cases where a diocesan bishop feels that he will not be able to continue much longer for health reasons or because he is nearing retirement age. In these cases the Pope will sometimes assign a coadjutor to the diocese in question in order to give the succeeding bishop time to become familiar with the diocese that he will eventually take over. An example of this occurred in 1994 when Archbishop Jerome Hanus was named Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque as Archbishop Daniel Kucera was planning to retire. In 1995, Archbishop Kucera retired, and Hanus automatically became the next Archbishop of Dubuque.

At times, the appointment of a coadjutor is used to discretely remove a diocesan bishop who has become involved in scandal or other problems and replace him with another man. An example of this occurred in the Archdiocese of Dubuque in the 1940's, when then Archbishop Beckman involved the archdiocese in what turned out to be a dubious mining scheme. When the scheme fell apart and the man behind the scam was arrested, the fallout resulted in serious financial problems for Archbishop Beckman and the archdiocese. Because of all Beckman's problems, Bishop Henry Rohlman of Davenport, Iowa, was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa. While Beckman was allowed to retain the office of Archbishop, it was made clear to him by the Holy See that the actual power rested with Rohlman. Beckman soon retired and left Dubuque.

Prior to the reform of the Code of Canon Law in 1983, a distinction was made between coadjutor bishops cum jure succesionis and those without -- that is, some coadjutors were appointed with the automatic right of succession, and others without such a right (the latter were usually appointed for archbishops with particularly large dioceses who also held other importants posts and to honor certain auxiliary bishops -- Cardinal Francis Spellman of New York, for instance, who was simultaneously archbishop of New York and also head of what later became the Archdiocese of the Military Services, USA, two of the largest archdioceses in the country, was assisted by Coadjutor Archbishop John Maguire).

Now, no coadjutor is appointed without the concomitant right of succession.

Anglican Communion

In some provinces of the Anglican Communion, a bishop coadjutor (the form usually used) is a bishop elected or appointed to follow the current diocesan bishop upon the incumbent's death or retirement. For example, in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, when a diocesan bishop announces his or her retirement, a special diocesan convention is held to elect a coadjutor. Usually the coadjutor serves with the incumbent for a short time before the latter's retirement, at which time the coadjutor becomes the diocesan bishop.

Lutheran Church

In the Evangelic-Lutheran Church of Finland, there has existed for a number of years the position of Bishop of Turku who assists the Archbishop of Turku, primate of Finland. As the Church of Finland does not accept two Bishops presiding over the same area, most of the diocese is under jurisdiction of the bishop. Only the parishes nearest Turku belong to the jurisdiction of the archbishop. The same could have been accomplished by founding a new diocese but this was not undertaken due to financial grounds. The office of the Bishop of Turku is a recent creation and it is to be seen whether it gives the possibility to succeed the Archbishop of Finland. No Archbishop has retired during the existence of the office of Bishop. However, the Archbishop of Turku is elected by a complicated procedure in which both layman and clergy of the whole country and of the archdiocese participate in varying decrees. It is possible that the Bishop, who is elected only by the clergy and laity of the archdiocese on somewhat local grounds, would not necessarily have the prestige to become the spiritual head of Finland.

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Coadjutor bishop

Roman Catholic Church

Anglican Communion

Lutheran Church