This may sound silly, but I don’t understand when and why we use these different titles within the Catholic church.
I wasn’t raised in Catholicism but my husband was so our kids attend a Catholic school.
The Priest is referred to as “Father Blahblah” then he sends memos out as “Rev. Blahblah” and then I’ve also heard Bishop used in services before? I’m just very confused.
Thanks yall 🙂
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You’re not ‘very’ confused. Reverend is like Doctor, a honorific based on achievement (studying medicine: Doctor; Studying religion: Reverend). “Father” is a relational address and maybe also a job title. Catholic clergy may also hold the position of “Brother” if they are a monk or “Bishop” if they manage a whole diocese instead of just a parish.
father and reverend are the honorific title options for someone with the job of priest.
instead of using Mr. preistX you would say Father preistX or reverend preistX
it’s not silly at all . like a hierarchy thing in the church. a priest is often called father cause they guide the flock. reverend is just a formal title. bishops are like the big bosses. its all a bit confusing but it’s cool that ur kids are learning about it
Not to add on but, What is a Monsignor?
In Catholicism, a priest is someone appointed and ordained by the church as a member of the holy order.
“Father” is just a honorary term used with priests – similar to calling someone “sir.” Similarly, “reverend” (which just means “respected”) is just an term of honor applied to priests. In a college, the person who teaches you may sign their emails “Dr. Blahblah” or “Prof. Blahblah” – it’s just honorary terms that fit their office/degree.
A bishop is a special kind of priest. There’s only 5,600 worldwide, in both Catholic churches, and they’re sort of the “upper management” of priests – they oversee a certain territory (diocese) and generally oversee a large number of priests within that territory. All bishops are priests, only a select few priests are bishops. Bishops can go on to become even higher ranks – archibishops, cardinals, and the highest of all, pope.
Which ones are allowed to have sex and get married?
Priest is the name for his position. A priest is someone who completed seminary and took his vows to lead mass. Father is a title or honorific you give someone with that position. It’s kind of like how someone who gets their medical degree is a doctor (lowercase D) but when you refer to them, you call them Doctor Johnson (capital D). Reverend is just another title, which also means someone who leads the church. Most Catholic priests wouldn’t use it, as it is more generally used for other Christian religious leaders, but it still could be used.
A bishop gets into the whole Catholic hierarchy. One or more priests will be assigned to a specific church. The Catholic Church breaks up areas into bigger areas they call a diocese. I live in Austin. Austin is in the Austin Diocese which comprises 25 different counties around Austin. The leader of the diocese is also a priest, but because they run the diocese, they are given the title of bishop. Each diocese will have a cathedral, which is basically the head church of the diocese. The bishop is always the head priest of the cathedral, though they will rarely lead mass.
Then there is the biggest (by people not by size) diocese of a region which will be called the archdiocese, and this is led by an archbishop. For me, that archdiocese is the Houston/Galveston diocese.
The next highest ranking would be a cardinal, who the Pope can choose from any bishop or archbishop to be bestowed the title of cardinal. The only real difference for a cardinal, is that they are the ones who actually meet and elect the new pope. And the pope himself doesn’t **have** to be a cardinal, but since 1379, every elected pope has been one.
I’m going to assume you know what the pope is, so I won’t go into detail there, other than to relate this back to what was said previously. By being elected pope, that person is also the Bishop of Rome, and therefore the head of that diocese.
You have two kinds of priests; diocesan and religious. Depending on what one you are, the ‘ranks’, as it were, are different. You are probably talking about a diocesan priest, a priest who has been attached to a parish. The lowest ‘ranking’ is just parish priest. You call him father or reverend or Chuck – if Chuck is his name.
If you are an out-frickin standing parish priest, you may be given the honorific of “monsignor.” Fun fact, the man who made the mathematical model for the big bang who went by the name Lamaitre, was a monsignor.
Above the priests you have a Bishop. A bishop is in charge of of diocese, or what a Catholic might consider a county. Important diocese, like Rome, New York, Montreal, etc – will be headed by an Archbishop as those diocese are considered “Archdioces.” That is the basic terminal rank of the vast, vast, vast, majority of Catholics. Think of them as the Colonels or Governors of the Catholic church. The next highest rank is Cardinal, sometimes called ‘Princes’, these men are the Senators/Generals of the Roman Catholic church. The acme rank is, obviously, the Pope. The Pope is also the Bishop of Rome.
In general, priests are fathers or reverends or a monsignor if the Pope bestowed that honor, but Bishops are referred to as ‘your excellency’ or ‘your grace’, or Chuck – if his name is Chuck. Cardinals are called “His Eminence”, or Chuck – if his name is Chuck. The Pope is referred to as “Your Holiness”, or, the Papal name. So you can call Pope Francis ‘Francis’, not Chuck, unless his papal name is Chuck.
Bishop is a title of leadership and is typically in charge of the Diocese, while a priest is simply an ordained person. Normally you refer to any priest as his honorific title of FATHER or Reverend (usually reserved for someone in high standard like the Pastor of a church). You also have Monsignor which is a title given to a priest of exemplary status (they’ve done great work for their church and community).
Titles in order of seniority
POPE
CARDINAL
BISHOP
PRIEST
If The Pope was The Godfather, the Bishops were all his Capos and were Made Men. The Priests are the Crews that go out and get the money and kick it back up to the Godfather, I mean Pope.
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