Editing Coadjutor bishop

{{Short description|Assistant of the diocesan bishop}}
{{distinguish|text=the title of [[auxiliary bishop]], a similar position}}

{{Catholic Church Hierarchy}}

A '''coadjutor bishop''' (or '''bishop coadjutor''') ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the [[Latin Church|Latin Catholic]], [[Anglican Communion|Anglican]] and (historically) [[Eastern Orthodox]] churches whose main role is to assist the [[diocesan bishop]] in administering the diocese.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4pj9YNdgJYC&q=coadjutor+orthodox&pg=PA91|title=The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox Church from the Fifth Century to the Present|last=Patrich|first=Joseph|date=2001|publisher=Peeters Publishers|isbn=9789042909762|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yp6oDQAAQBAJ&q=coadjutor+orthodox&pg=PT184|title=The Latin Church in the Crusader States: The Secular Church|last=Hamilton|first=Bernard|date=2016-12-05|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351887052|language=en}}</ref> 

The coadjutor automatically succeeds the diocesan bishop when he retires, dies or leaves office for another reason.  In the Latin Catholic Church, the coadjutor is a priest or bishop appointed by the pope in Rome. He is considered the principal deputy administrator of the diocese. 

In the Eastern Catholic churches, the adjutor may be appointed by the pope or by the church itself.  Within the Anglican Communion, a diocesan committee appoints the coadjutor, who can be male or female. 

==Latin Church==
{{main|Bishops in the Catholic Church}}

=== Role of coadjutor ===
In the Latin Church, the pope appoints a coadjutor to help the [[bishop]] govern the [[diocese]]. A bishop himself, the coadjutor can substitute for the diocesan bishop in his absence (Canon 403§3).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-05-21 |title=What is the difference between an ordinary, auxiliary, and coadjutor bishop? |url=https://catholicstraightanswers.com/what-is-the-difference-between-an-ordinary-auxiliary-and-coadjutor-bishop/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Catholic Straight Answers |language=en}}</ref>The coadjutor must be a Catholic priest (all priests are male) and is usually a bishop or [[auxiliary bishop]]. 

Under [[canon law]], the coadjutor must serve as the [[vicar general]], the principal deputy administrator of the diocese. The diocesan bishop must "entrust to him [coadjutor] before others" in acts that require a special mandate (Canon 406§1)  If the [[episcopal see]] is an [[archdiocese]], the coadjutor is appointed as an [[archbishop]].<ref>[https://www.usccb.org/offices/general-secretariat/appointing-bishops "Appointing Bishops", USCCB]</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=What is a coadjutor? |url=https://www.camdendiocese.org/what-is-a-coadjutor/ |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Diocese of Camden |language=en-US}}</ref>

In modern church practice, the pope can appoint a coadjutor to assist a bishop who needs help due to declining health. The coadjutor can also assist a bishop nearing retirement. The objective is to have continuity of leadership in the diocese and avoid an unexpected vacancy in the position of bishop.<ref name=":0" />

[[Pope Benedict XVI]] named Bishop [[Dennis Marion Schnurr|Dennis Schnurr]] as coadjutor archbishop of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati|Archdiocese of Cincinnati]] in Ohio in the United States in October 2008 to assist Archbishop [[Daniel Edward Pilarczyk|Daniel Pilarczyk.]] When Pilarczyk retired in December 2009, Schnurr automatically became the diocesan archbishop without any ceremony.<ref name="wcpo20081017">{{cite news |first=Bill |last=Price |title=Vatican Names Future Replacement For Pilarczyk |date=October 17, 2008 |publisher=[[WCPO-TV]]}}</ref>

In some situations, the pope may appoint a coadjutor to override the diocesan bishop in certain matters. These might include a public scandal or financial mismanagement of diocese. The problems are serious, but not bad enough for the pope to remove the diocesan bishop. 

In 2023, [[Pope Francis]] appointed Bishop [[François Touvet]] as coadjutor of the [[Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon]] in France to assist the elderly Bishop [[Dominique Rey]]. The pope gave Touvet special powers to oversee the preparation of [[Seminary|seminarians]] and the financial management in the diocese. The [[Vatican City|Vatican]] had suspended the [[ordination]] of priests in the diocese in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-21 |title=Pope Francis Appoints Coadjutor to French Diocese Where Ordinations Were Halted |url=https://www.ncregister.com/cna/pope-francis-appoints-coadjutor-to-french-diocese-where-ordinations-were-halted |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=NCR |language=en}}</ref>

In one instance, the pope appointed a coadjutor to a church that was not a diocese. In 2002, [[Pope John Paul II]] named the Reverend [[Fernando Arêas Rifan]] as coadjutor of the [[Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney]] in Brazil. The pope took this action as part of the reconciliation agreement with the former Priestly Union of Saint John Mary Vianney that had broken with the Catholic Church.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Rinunce e Nomine, 28.06.2002 |date=28 June 2002 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2002/06/28/0335/01072.html |language=it |access-date=21 September 2021}}</ref>

=== Right of succession ===
The 1983 [[1983 Code of Canon Law|Code of Canon Law]] of the Latin Church stipulates that all coadjutors have the right of succession. The code also allows the pope to appoint an auxiliary bishop to a diocese "with special faculties [powers]", but without the right of succession.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Code of Canon Law - Book II - The People of God - Part II. (Cann. 368-430) |url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann368-430_en.html |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

In 1986, [[Pope John Paul II]] appointed the Reverend [[Donald Wuerl]] as an auxiliary bishop in the [[Archdiocese of Seattle]] in Washington State in the United States with "special powers" to override Archbishop [[Raymond Hunthausen]]. The pope was unhappy with Hunthausen's handling of [[LGBTQ]] relations and other morality issues.<ref name=":1">{{cite thesis |last=Schilling |first=Timothy Peter |title=Conflict in the Catholic Hierarchy: A Study of Coping Strategies in the Hunthausen Affair, with Preferential Attention to Discursive Strategies |type=doctoral dissertation |publisher=Utrecht University |location=Utrecht, Netherlands |year=2003 |hdl=1874/601 |hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Under the old [[1917 Code of Canon Law]], the pope did not have to give an coadjutor ''cum jure succesionis'' ("with the right of succession").  In practice, the popes sometimes appointed coadjutors without the right of succession. These coadjutors usually served in large archdioceses.  They might hold other important posts within the Catholic Church, or might be auxiliary bishops that the pope wanted to honor with the title of coadjutor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE 1917 OR PIO-BENEDICTINE CODE OF CANON LAW |url=https://ia801605.us.archive.org/23/items/1917-or-pio-benedictine-code-of-canon/1917%20or%20Pio-Benedictine%20Code%20of%20Canon.pdf |access-date=January 27, 2025 |website=Ignatius Press}}</ref>

For example, [[Pope Paul VI]] in 1965 appointed Auxiliary Bishop [[John Maguire (coadjutor archbishop of New York)|John J. Maguire]] as coadjutor of the [[Archdiocese of New York]], one of the largest archdioceses in the United States, to assist Cardinal [[Francis Spellman]]. However, the pope denied Maguire the right of succession for when Spellman was no longer there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archbishop John Joseph Maguire [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmaguirej.html |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>

== Eastern Catholic Churches ==
Some ''sui juris'' [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] also appoint coadjutors. However, the selection process differs among the churches.

* The patriarchal or major archiepiscopal synods of the larger ''sui juris'' ritual churches typically elect their coadjutors, with papal assent. 
* The pope typically appoints the coadjutors in the smaller ''sui juris'' ritual churches.

The coadjutor of an [[eparchy]], archeparchy, or [[metropolis (religious jurisdiction)|metropolis]] has the respective status of an eparch, [[archeparch]], or metropolitan.

==Anglican communion==
In some [[province (Anglican)|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.

In the [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America]], when a diocesan bishop announces their intent to retire, they normally call for a special diocesan convention to elect a bishop coadjutor.  The bishop coadjutor and diocesan bishop then serve jointly until the diocesan bishop dies or retires. The coadjutor automatically becomes the diocesan bishop.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bishop Coadjutor |url=https://www.episcopalchurch.org/glossary/bishop-coadjutor/ |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=The Episcopal Church |language=en-US}}</ref>

A "bishop suffragan" is elected to assist the diocesan bishop under his direction, but without the inherent right of succession.<ref>[https://www.epicenter.org/how-many-different-types-of-bishops-are-there/ "How many different types of bishops are there?", The Episcopal Diocese of Texas]</ref>

There have been bishops coadjutor in the [[Anglican Church of Australia]] without the right of succession to the diocesan see.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

==See also==
* [[Titular see]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{Cite web|title=Code of Canon Law - Book II - The People of God - Part II. (Cann. 368-430)|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann368-430_en.html#Art._3.|access-date=2021-01-17|website=www.vatican.va}}

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