Apostolic administration


An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the Pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese, or is a diocese, eparchy or similar permanent ordinariate that either has no bishop or, in very rare cases, has an incapacitated bishop.

Characteristics

Apostolic administrators of stable administrations are equivalent in canon law with diocesan bishops, meaning they have essentially the same authority as a diocesan bishop. This type of apostolic administrator is usually the bishop of a titular see.
Administrators sede vacante or sede plena only serve in their role until a newly chosen diocesan bishop takes possession of the diocese. They are restricted by canon law in what they can do to the diocese they temporarily administer. For example, such an administrator may not sell real estate owned by the diocese. This type of administrator is commonly an auxiliary bishop of the diocese, a priest serving as the vicar general of the diocese, or the ordinary of a neighboring diocese.
Normally when a diocese falls vacant, either the previously appointed Coadjutor bishop takes possession of the see or a vicar capitular/diocesan administrator is chosen locally, but the Pope, having full governmental power, can preempt this choice and name an apostolic administrator instead. Sometimes a retiring, promoted or transferred bishop is designated to be apostolic administrator until his successor is designated and takes office, sometimes the Metropolitan or a fellow suffragan is appointed.

Apostolic administrations

In May 2015, there were the following stable apostolic administrations, most administered by a bishop.
Most are of the Roman rite; most are in former or current communist countries.
Some apostolic administrations have jurisdiction not only over Latin Rite Catholics, but also over Catholics of other rites, not having their own jurisdictions there:
Also some apostolic administrations have jurisdiction only over Catholics of the Byzantine Rite, that not having their own jurisdictions there:
The Diocese of Pyongyang, North Korea: its last official bishop, Francis Hong Yong-ho, was imprisoned by the communist regime of Kim Il-sung in 1949 and later disappeared. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Seoul acts as the Apostolic Administrator in Pyongyang, as religion is suppressed in North Korea.

Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney

In addition, the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney is a non-territorial jurisdiction, similar to a personal prelature, which is exempt, i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, not part of any ecclesiastical province. It is a separate particular church for traditionalist Catholics within the Brazilian Diocese of Campos, a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Niterói.
The personal apostolic administration was formed by Pope John Paul II to administer to a group of traditionalist Catholic priests, using the Tridentine Mass, who reconciled with Rome on January 18, 2002. The group had been formed by bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer and had been associated with the Society of St. Pius X of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Temporary administration of vacant sees

It has become not unusual that the Pope appoints an Apostolic Administrator to a diocese which is sede vacante, thus replacing the diocesan administrator. Usually, the emeritus bishop will be appointed in such a case. Recently, the archdiocese St. Andrews and Edinburgh had Philip Tartaglia under this procedure.
For example, Luis Antonio Tagle was appointed as Prefect of Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in 9 December 2019, and he took office in February 2020. Broderick Soncuaco Pabillo, the current Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, was appointed as Apostolic Administrator.
Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, the Bishop of Hong Kong died in 3 January 2019. Cardinal John Tong Hon, Bishop Emeritus, was appointed as Apostolic Administrator.
There is also exception that the Pope can appoint apostolic administrator sede plena, replacing the current bishop in exercise, Anthony Sablan Apuron, the Archbishop of Agana was under investigation of sexual abuse in June 2016. Pope Francis appointed Savio Hon Tai-fai as apostolic administrator sede plena, as temporary replacement. In 31 October 2016, Michael J. Byrnes, then Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Agana with full administrative authority, and later succeeded as Archbishop.

Former Apostolic administrations

Latin in Europe

; In Asia
; In America
; In Africa