Choosing of Matthias - Choosing our New Bishop

How Does One Qualify to be an Apostle?

The first thing the apostles after the Ascension of the Lord was to find a replacement for Judas.  With all the questions, doubts, and dangers facing them, they chose to focus their attention on finding a twelfth apostle.   Why was this important?  Twelve was a very important number to the Chosen People: twelve was the number of the twelve tribes of Israel.  If the new Israel was to come from the disciples of Jesus, a twelfth apostle was needed.

But Jesus had chosen the original twelve.  How could they know whom he would choose?  One hundred and twenty people were gathered for prayer and reflection in the upper room, when Peter stood up to propose the way to make the choice.

Peter had one criterion, that, like Andrew, James, John, and himself, the new apostle be someone who had been a disciple from the very beginning, from His baptism by John until the Ascension.  The reason for this was simple, the new apostle must become a witness to Jesus' resurrection.  He must have followed Jesus before anyone knew Him, stayed with Him when He made enemies, and believed in Him when He spoke of the cross and of eating His Body -- teachings that had made others melt away.

A Witness to the Resurrection

Two men fit this description -- Matthias and Joseph called Barsabbas.  They knew that both these men had been with them and with Jesus through his whole ministry.  But which one had the heart to become a witness to his resurrection?  The apostles knew that only the Lord could know what was in the heart of each.  They cast lots in order to discover God's will and Matthias was chosen.  He was the 12th apostle and the group was whole again as they waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

That's the first we hear of Matthias in Scripture, and the last.  Legends testify to Matthias' enthusiastic embrace of all that being an apostle meant including evangelization, persecution, and death in the service of the Lord.

How does one qualify to be an apostle?  Or, pertinent to our situation here in the Diocese of Harrisburg, how does one become a successor to the apostles - a Bishop?

Who Chooses a New Bishop?

The answer to the question "Who chooses a new bishop?" is "The Holy Spirit."  Christ has not abandoned his church, and continues to guide and govern her through the Holy Spirit.  However, the Holy Spirit uses human beings to accomplish this.  Another correct answer is, "the Pope."  While it is true that the Pope can appoint any Catholic priest to be a bishop, the actual process usually involves many people.

The process consists of two parts: identifying priests with the necessary qualities, and selecting the one who best fills a specific vacancy.  "We try to find the saint who fits the niche," explained Archbishop Pio Laghi, who served as apostolic delegate to the United States from 1980 to 1990.

Identifying the right priests

The process of identifying priests with the qualities desired in a bishop is an ongoing process, even if there are no vacancies.  The bishops of a province (the Catholic Church in the United States is divided into 33 provinces) give their archbishop the names of priests they think would make good bishops.  The Diocese of Harrisburg belongs to the Philadelphia Province - and Justin Cardinal Rigali is our metropolitan.  The candidates passed on by a bishop are usually from his current diocese or from one where he has served, since these are the priests he knows best.

The qualities of a bishop

The Church is very explicit about the qualities that must be present in a candidate to the episcopacy.  He must be "a good pastor of souls and teacher of the Faith."  The Church examines whether the candidates "enjoy a good reputation; whether they are of irreproachable morality; whether they are endowed with right judgment and prudence; whether they are even-tempered and of stable character; whether they firmly hold the orthodox Faith; whether they are devoted to the Apostolic See and faithful to the magisterium of the Church; whether they have a thorough knowledge of dogmatic and moral theology and canon law; whether they are outstanding for their piety, their spirit of sacrifice and their pastoral zeal; whether they have an aptitude for governing."

Consideration is also be given to "intellectual qualities, studies completed, social sense, spirit of dialogue and cooperation, openness to the signs of the times, praise-worthy impartiality, family background, health, age and inherited characteristics."

The provincial list

Periodically, the bishops of a province meet under the chairmanship of their archbishop to consider the names of priests who are possible candidates for the episcopacy.  At the provincial meeting, a list of candidates for the episcopacy is assembled, voted on and forwarded to the apostolic nuncio.

While the nuncio could nominate for bishop someone not from this pool of candidates, and the pope could appoint any priest he wanted, most appointments come from these lists.  When a diocese becomes vacant, the second part of the process gets underway – the search for the specific person who will fill a specific vacancy.

The apostolic nuncio

A nuncio represents the Holy Father to both a nation's civil government (as ambassador) and the Catholic Church in that nation.  Archbishop Pietro Sambi, originally from northern Italy,  has been the apostolic nuncio to the United States since 2005.  To learn more about Archbishop Sambi, click here - he has a very interesting resume... 

When vacancies occur in U.S. dioceses and a diocesan ordinary is being chosen (as opposed to an auxiliary bishop), the nuncio chooses several candidates to suggest to Rome from among the names which have been submitted.  The nuncio's recommendations to Rome are based on his own extensive investigation of the needs of the diocese and each candidate's suitability for that particular diocese.   For example, the Diocese of Harrisburg is the seat of political power in our Commonwealth, and so our bishop serves as the charrman of the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference.  We also have a unique reputation for having a solid and fraternal presbyterate.  Our Bishops have sometimes come from within (like Bishop Keeler or Bishop Rhoades) and sometimes from outside our diocese (like Bishop Dattilo or Bishop Leech).   

During his investigation the nuncio sends a confidential questionnaire on the candidate to people who know him.  The questions address the physical, intellectual, moral, spiritual, social, and priestly characteristics that one would hope for in a bishop.

Those questioned include priests, religious and laity.  Some are suggested by the priest's diocesan bishop, others are diocesan officials or people the nuncio has gotten to know personally.  The laity consulted tend to be officers in diocesan lay organizations or on diocesan advisory committees.  Each is told to answer the questions without consulting others.  They cannot tell anyone, especially the candidate, that they have received the questionnaire.

Nuncio's Report

After the nuncio has examined the responses to the questionnaires, he prepares the "terna," a list of three candidates, and writes a report extracting and synthesizing the content of the consultation and giving his own judgment.  The terna and the report are sent to the Congregation for Bishops in Rome, and no bishop sees them unless he is a member of that congregation.  The report gives a description of the diocese, describes the process the nuncio went through in selecting the candidates, describes the candidates and gives the nuncio's recommendations.

Congregation for Bishops

When the nuncio's report arrives at the Congregation for Bishops, the members discuss the appointment under the chairmanship of the prefect.  The congregation then votes on the candidates and attaches its own recommendations to the report.

The Pope

The final step in the appointment process occurs when the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops presents the nuncio's, the congregation's, and his own recommendations to the pope in a private audience.  The prefect summarizes the discussions of the congregation and reports any dissenting opinions.  The pope may ask for more information about the candidates, or may even ask for other candidates to be proposed.  In the end however, the pope, led by the Holy Spirit, makes the appointment - just as it was the Holy Spirit who chose Matthias.

Notification and consent

After the pope makes his decision, the nuncio is notified, who then approaches the nominee and asks if he will accept the appointment.  When the candidate accepts, Rome is notified and a date is set for the announcement.

Although the process normally takes four to eight months, it can be much shorter or much longer.  And so the Diocese of Harrisburg waits patiently and prayerfully for the announcement of our new bishop.  We are, however, at the top of the list of "vacant" dioceses here in the Unites States.  When will it be?  Only the Holy Spirit knows - but many speculate it will not be until this fall that the Holy Spirit leads the church to the best bishop possible – the "saint who fits the niche."

May the Holy Spirit be active in the process of selecting  new bishops.  May they be men of deep faith, integrity, fidelity and compassion.  Let's pray daily!

Lord, as Peter led the 11 apostles to discern the will of the Holy Spirit and "make known to them" whom You had already chosen, so we ask you to be with the leaders of our Church who, through the inspiration of that same Holy Spirit, will select our new bishop.  May they be filled with wisdom and counsel in discerning the will of God.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.