What happens next in our diocese?

Many people have been asking the question, “Once Bishop Malesic is installed as the 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, what will happen in the Diocese of Greensburg and how will it be administered?”

The answer is found in canon law. Once Bishop Malesic takes possession of the Diocese of Cleveland with his installation Sept. 14, the Diocese of Greensburg is considered to be vacant (sede vacante). Within eight days of the vacancy, the College of Consultors, a group of priests selected by the previous bishop, will meet to elect a diocesan administrator. 

Once the administrator is elected and accepts the responsibility, he is required to take an oath of fidelity and make a profession of faith in the presence of the College of Consultors. He will be responsible for the governance of the day-to-day activities of the Diocese. He will act as a steward of the diocese and its patrimony until a new bishop assumes this responsibility.

That means the day-to-day work, ministry and mission of the Diocese of Greensburg will continue.

One of the important obligations of the administrator will be to prepare the diocese to receive its new bishop. The authority of the diocesan administrator is limited and does not equal that of the diocesan bishop. He cannot, for example, institute nor promulgate any new diocesan policies.

Ultimately, the naming of the new bishop is reserved exclusively to the Holy Father. He will receive information about potential candidates through a wide consultation process. Pope Francis will choose and then name the new bishop of the Diocese of Greensburg and entrust to him the pastoral care of the people of the diocese.