The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) consists of all active and retired bishops—diocesan, coadjutor, and auxiliary—in the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The bishop in the five commonwealths and territories have different episcopal conferences:
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the bishop is a member of the USCCB.
Archbishops and bishops
The 176 Latin Church dioceses in the United States are divided into 33 ecclesiastical provinces. Each province has a metropolitan archdiocese led by an archbishop, and at least one suffragan diocese. Each suffragan diocese is led by a bishop. The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA is the only American archdiocese that is not designated as a metropolitan archdiocese. The pope appoints all archbishops and bishops, who must be at least ordained priests. The pope chooses from a list of candidates provided by the papal nuncio of the United States to the Congregation of Bishops in Rome.[4]
Most archdioceses and large dioceses have one or more auxiliary bishops, serving under the direction of the archbishop or bishop. After consultation with the Papal Nuncio to the United States, the pope appoints all auxiliary bishops.
Some archdioceses and dioceses have a coadjutor archbishop or coadjutor bishop. The coadjutor assists an elderly or ailing archbishop or bishop with their administrative duties. After the archbishop or bishop retires or dies, the coadjutor normally succeeds him without an appointment by the pope. The pope appoints all coadjutors.
Most nations with large Catholic populations in non-missionary geographical areas propose and elect native-born clergy to the episcopacy. An exception to this rule is the United States, which has a significant number of foreign-born bishops, with most serving as auxiliaries in culturally diverse dioceses. As of 2024, 34 active foreign-born bishops are serving in the United States, representing about 11% of all active American bishops.
The following nations have produced at least one bishop who is serving in the United States: Italy, Haiti, Ireland, Colombia, Lebanon, Peru, Spain, Cuba, South Africa, Malta, Argentina, El Salvador, and Cameroon.[citation needed]
The Archdioceses of Los Angeles and San Antonio and seven dioceses (Raleigh, Fall River, Charleston, Salt Lake City, San Bernardino, Las Cruces, and St Thomas) are led by foreign-born archbishops and bishops.[6] Two American archdioceses and two dioceses have more than one foreign-born active bishop assigned to them:
Additionally, there are several dozen bishops currently serving in the United States who are first-generation American-born children of immigrant parents.
The majority of Eastern Rite Catholic bishops in the U.S. are foreign-born.
Archeparchs
The United States has two Eastern Catholic metropoliae, each led by a metropolitan archbishop called an archeparch:
Although the majority (53%) of the US Roman Catholic population now live in the Western and Southern states, there is only one active cardinal located West of the Mississippi River, and there are no active cardinals West of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston.[7] As of January 2025,[update] four metropolitan archdioceses and one diocese are led by a cardinal:
The Ukrainian Catholic Metropolitan Province of Philadelphia consists of four eparchies of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and covers the entire United States.
The other Eastern Catholic Churches with eparchies (dioceses) or exarchates established in the United States are not grouped into metropoliae. All are immediately subject to the Holy See, with limited oversight by the head of their respective sui iuris churches.
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special diocese comprising Anglican converts to Catholicism. Under canon law, if the personal ordinary is not a bishop, he is treated as the equivalent of a diocesan bishop.[10][1]
^Simpson, Victor L (October 19, 2011). "Pope names US envoy". philly.com. Associated Press. Retrieved October 25, 2011. The Washington post is a key one in the Vatican diplomatic corps both for the importance of the U.S. in world affairs and for its large Catholic population, which is counted on for its financial help to the Holy See and its contributions to papal charities.
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