January 18, 2026 - Pastor Message
January 19, 2026“This saying is trustworthy: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.
“This saying is trustworthy: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task. Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well…He should not be a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and thus incur the devil’s punishment. He must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, the devil’s trap” (1 Timothy 3:1-7).
Together with the rest of the Diocese of Erie, which includes some 200,000 Catholics living in the thirteen counties of Northwest Pennsylvania, we have been praying for a new bishop. This process began when, at the age of 75, Bishop Persico submitted his letter of resignation to the Holy Father, which is required by canon law for all bishops. The Holy Father does not have to accept the letter, and, until he does so, Bishop Persico remains our bishop. In the meantime, the process for selecting a new bishop is underway. I thought it would be instructive to reflect on that process in my column this weekend, so that we can all see how much prayer and deliberation goes into choosing a bishop.
The first stage happens before a bishop even retires. Each bishop periodically submits a list of names of priests from his diocese he thinks would make good bishops to the archbishop of the metropolitan archdiocese of that province, a region of several dioceses. Along with all the dioceses of Pennsylvania, we belong to the province of Philadelphia. At their annual meeting, the bishops of that province discuss the recommended candidates and their qualifications, and, when a diocese becomes open (a bishop, like Bishop Persico, has submitted his letter of resignation), they submit a list of the most promising candidates to the Apostolic Nuncio.
The Apostolic Nuncio is the official representative of the Holy Father in a country, the ambassador of the Holy See. He conducts his own investigation of the proposed candidates, interviewing bishops and others, and narrows the list to three, called a terna, indicating his own preference in a report to the Dicastery for Bishops in Rome. The Dicastery for Bishops advises the Holy Father in matters related to bishops. They review the nuncio’s report, conduct their own investigation, and then vote on their preferred candidate. The prefect, or chairperson, of the dicastery then delivers the recommendation to the Holy Father, who reviews it and is free to accept it, reject it, or ask for more information. Once the Holy Father makes his decision, the nuncio is notified and contacts the chosen candidate, asking him if he accepts, which, 99.9 % of the time, he does (it’s hard to say “No” to the pope).
As you can see, the choice of a bishop is not arbitrary or haphazard. It is a process that has constantly evolved over 2000 years and includes many people and months of careful and prayerful deliberation. But above all it requires the Holy Spirit to lead and guide those responsible, ultimately the Holy Father. So let us continue to pray ardently for the Holy Spirit to guide those who will choose our next bishop, and let us pray too for Bishop Persico as he concludes his faithful service of our diocese.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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