''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s and

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s of the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

and the 23

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

that are in

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Origin and contents

In the 1990s, David M. Cheney created a simple internet website that documented the Catholic bishops in his home state of Texas—many of whom did not have webpages. In 2002, after moving to the Midwest, he officially created the present website catholic-hierarchy.org and expanded to cover the United States and eventually the world. The database contains geographical, organizational and address information on each Catholic diocese in the world, including

with the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, such as the Maronite Catholic Church and the

Syro-Malabar Church The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Cathol ...

. It also gives biographical information on current and previous bishops of each diocese, such as dates of birth,

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

s and (when applicable) death.

Status

The Zenit News Agency states that the webpage provides a "silent, unique service to the Church".

Sources

Among the printed sources used are the

publications: ''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides nam ...

'', ''

Acta Apostolicae Sedis ''Acta Apostolicae Sedis'' (Latin for 'Acts of the Apostolic See'), often cited as ''AAS'', is the official gazette of the Holy See, appearing about twelve times a year.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), a ...

'' and '' Acta Sanctae Sedis''. Historical studies by various authors are also used.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org 2002 in Christianity Catholic websites Episcopacy in the Catholic Church

Origin and contents

Status

Sources

References

Further reading

External links