Before looking at the process of selecting a priest to become a bishop today, it's important to realize that the process of how a bishop is chosen has changed and developed much over the Church's 2,000-plus-year history. Bishops are the successors of the apostles. As the number of apostles dwindled -- often through their martyrdom -- their closest collaborators were chosen and appointed to fulfill their role in the community.

In the patristic era (around the end of the 1st century to about the 8th century), it was common for the clergy of a diocese to elect their bishop. In some cases, historical evidence shows that bishops were selected by the people of the diocese. There are many situations in the Middle Ages where the state demanded the right to select bishops, resulting in some cases where episcopal office became more political in nature than pastoral. Some countries today still maintain privileges of consultation on bishops nominated in their territories.

Today the ultimate decision in appointing bishops rests with the Pope, and he is free to selecte anyone he chooses. But how does he know whom to select?

The process for selecting candidates for the episcopacy normally begins at the diocesan level and works its way through a series of consultations until it reaches Rome. It is a process bound by strict confidentiality and involves a number of important players -- the most influential being the apostolic nuncio (the Pope's representative to both the government and to the hierarchy of a given nation), the Congregation for Bishops, and finally, the Pope. It can be a time-consuming process, often taking eight months or more to complete. While there are distinctions between the first appointment of a priest as a bishop and a bishop's later transfer to another diocese or his promotion to archbishop, the basic outlines of the process remain the same.

Stay tuned next week for the steps that are taken in putting a priest into the process.