Bishops, Archbishops, & Dioceses

Along with being the Head of the entire Catholic Church, the pope also serves as the Bishop of Rome. The pope is a bishop in the same way that others are bishops, it's just that his jurisdiction is bigger. The pope has authority over the entire world, while a bishop (who could also be an archbishop or cardinal) has jurisdiction over his diocese-an administrative territory.

Each individual bishop has his own authority, which comes from episcopal ordination and consecration. Episcopal means anything that has to do with a bishop, in the same way papal refers to the pope. Episcopal ordination and consecration is the sacrament by which a priest becomes a bishop. It is the third and highest level of the Sacrament of Holy Orders (1st level is the ordination of a deacon, the 2nd is ordination of a priest). Three bishops lay hands on the priest being ordained bishop, and his head his annointed with Chrism Oil.

A bishop runs a diocese. He does not serve as the Pope's ambassador, but governs his province as a successor to the apostles, in the same way that the Pope is a successor to St. Peter. The pope appoints the bishops, and they are required to make a trip to Rome every 5 years to report on their diocese. The rest of a bishop's time consists of ordaining deacons and priests, and confirming new Catholics. Only Bishops have the power to administer the Sacrament of Holy Orders, which ordains men as deacons, priests, or bishops. A bishop will also visit the parishes in his diocese, and serve as the head administrator in matters of business.

A local diocese consists of a collection of parishes, much like a state contains different counties. Dioceses can be large or small geographically. The entire state of South Carolina falls under the Diocese of Charleston, while New Jersey (similar in size) consists of 5 dioceses.

An archbishop runs a large diocese, known as an archdiocese. In the United States, there is an archbishop given authority in Newark, San Francisco, Denver, Hartford, Miami, St. Louis, and Omaha. Sometimes, the archdiocese is headed by a cardinal, which is the case in Philadelphia, New York, Washington, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Detroit. Cardinals are the level right below pope and, when they're not meeting in Rome, spend much of their time in their respective archdioceses.

All the bishops from a country will get together at least once a year for what's called an episcopal conference. American bishops are part of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Canadian ones to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), and British ones to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW).