CONGREGATION FOR BISHOPS. Established in 1588 as the Sacred Consistorial Congregation by Pope Sixtus V. Its name was changed in 1967 by Pope Paul VI, and its authority clarified. In countries not subject to the Congregations for Oriental Churches or the Evangelization of Peoples, the Congregation for Bishops may erect, divide, and unite dioceses, provinces, and other ecclesiastical territories. It prepares the documentation for the choice of bishops, apostolic administrators, and prelates with personal jurisdiction. It is kept informed about and watches over whatever concerns the persons and offices of bishops and the state of their dioceses. It examines the quinquennial reports and episcopal conferences and, in general, oversees the needs of the Church as these are to be met by the local ordinaries and their auxiliaries.
The Congregation for Bishops has its origins in the "Congregation for the Erection of Churches and Consistorial Provisions" founded by Pope Sixtus V on 22 January 1588. Before the Second Vatican Council, when the pope announced the names of new cardinals at a Secret Consistory, that is, a consistory that only churchmen attended, the names of new cardinals would be read out, followed by those of archbishops and bishops. The name was changed from the Sacred Consistorial Congregation to the Congregation for Bishops in 1967. Since 30 June 2010 its Prefect has been Cardinal Marc Ouellet. Since 12 October 2013 its Secretary has been Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari. Since 25 January 2012 its Undersecretary has been Monsignor Udo Breitbach.
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