Belleville Diocese still without a bishop as parishioners begin holiday season
It’s been nearly eight months since Pope Francis appointed Michael McGovern to lead the Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha, and it remains unclear who will succeed him as Belleville bishop.
Diocese spokesman Monsignor John Myler noted that much has happened since McGovern’s appointment on March 31.
“Of course, we have a new pope, so he has lots of things in front of him,” Myler said.
Pope Francis died in April, shortly before McGovern left Belleville to be installed as archbishop on May 7. The next day, a Vatican conclave elected Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost, former prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, as pope. He took the name Pope Leo XIV.
Even under normal circumstances, there’s no specific timeline for a bishop’s appointment. It often takes six or eight months or longer, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website.
“The process for selecting candidates for the episcopacy normally begins at the diocesan level and works its way through a series of consultations until it reaches Rome,” the website states.
“It is a process bound by strict confidentiality and involves a number of important players – the most influential being the apostolic nuncio, the Dicastery for Bishops, and the pope.”
When a bishop is appointed, an announcement is made online as part of a daily Vatican news report. The diocese isn’t given inside information or advance notice, according to Myler.
“It happens when it happens,” he said.
Here is the process for selecting bishops, condensed from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website:
- Bishops in each province submit to their archbishop the names of priests who they think would make good bishops.
- The archbishop distributes all the names and biographies back to bishops, who discuss them at a province meeting and vote for those to recommend.
- Vote totals and meeting minutes are forwarded to the apostolic nuncio in Washington, D.C.
- The nuncio gathers information and consults with the incumbent bishop or administrator in a diocese with a vacancy and other key people.
- The nuncio narrows the list and sends questionnaires to 20 or 30 people who know each candidate to get their input.
- The nuncio prepares a report, called a “terna,” listing three top candidates and noting his preference, and sends it to the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome.
- The prefect and his staff or the full dicastery approve the nuncio’s documentation, depending on circumstances.
- A cardinal relator summarizes the documentation and makes a report to the dicastery, which generally meets once a month.
- The dicastery discusses the appointment and votes, following the nuncio’s recommendation or choosing another candidate.
- In a private audience with the pope, the prefect presents the recommendations, and the pope makes a final decision in a few days.
- The dicastery notifies the nuncio, who contacts the candidate to ask if he will accept the appointment.
McGovern was ordained and installed as the ninth bishop of Belleville on July 22, 2020, replacing Bishop Edward Braxton, who retired. The installation at the Cathedral of St. Peter happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, so only 300 people could attend, and they wore masks.
The Belleville diocese now is being led by the Very Rev. Godfrey Mullen, who serves as its administrator.
