Tuzia named Orvieto-Todi Bishop

Bishop Benedetto Tuzia was named Bishop of Orvieto-Todi, Italy.

The diocese had been vacant since the resignation of Bishop Giovanni Scanavino, O.S.A. in March 2011.

Bishop Tuzia had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of Roma {Rome}.

de Jesús Moya retired, Mejía Vallejo named San Francisco de Macorís Bishop

Bishop Jesús María de Jesús Moya retired and Bishop-elect Fausto Ramón Mejía Vallejo was named Bishop of San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic.

de Jesus named Guanhães Bishop

Bishop-elect Jeremias Antônio de Jesus was named Bishop of Guanhães, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The diocese had been vacant since Bishop Emanuel Messias de Oliveira was named Bishop of Caratinga in February 2011.

Aquila named Denver Archbishop

Archbishop-designate Samuel Joseph Aquila was named Archbishop of Denver, Colorado, USA.

The archdiocese had been vacant since Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. was named Archbishop of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in July 2011.

Archbishop-designate Aquila had been serving as Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota.

Kmiec retired, Malone named Buffalo Bishop

Bishop Edward Urban Kmiec retired and Bishop Richard Joseph Malone was named Bishop of Buffalo, New York, USA.

Bishop Malone had been serving as Bishop of Portland, Maine.

Bafang erected; Kome named Bishop

The Diocese of Bafang, Cameroon was erected with territory taken from Nkongsamba.

Bishop-elect Abraham Kome was named its first Bishop.

Pirih retired, Bizjak named Koper Bishop

Bishop Metod Pirih retired and Bishop Jurij Bizjak was named Bishop of Koper, Slovenia.

Bishop Bizjak had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of the same diocese.

Atangana named Nkongsamba Bishop

Bishop-elect Dieudonné Espoir Atangana was named Bishop of Nkongsamba, Cameroon.

The diocese had been vacant since Bishop Dieudonné Watio was named Bishop of Bafoussam in March 2011.

Okogie retired, Martins named Lagos Archbishop

Anthony Olubunmi Cardinal Okogie retired and Archbishop-designate Alfred Adewale Martins was named Archbishop of Lagos, Nigeria.

Archbishop-designate Martins had been serving as Bishop of Abeokuta.

D’Errico named Croatia Nuncio

Archbishop Alessandro D’Errico was named Apostolic Nuncio to Croatia.

The post had been vacant since Archbishop Mario Roberto Cassari was named Apostolic Nuncio to South Africa to March 2012.

Archbishop D’Errico had been serving as Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia-Herzegovina and to Montenegro.

Zeca Martins named Luanda Auxiliary

Bishop-elect Zeferino Zeca Martins, S.V.D. was named Auxiliary Bishop of Luanda, Angola and titular bishop of Tanaramusa.

Pérez de Onraita Aguirre retired, Roberto named Malanje Archbishop

Archbishop Luis María Pérez de Onraita Aguirre retired and Archbishop-designate Benedito Roberto, C.S.Sp. was named Archbishop of Malanje, Angola.

Archbishop-designate Roberto had been serving as Bishop of Novo Redondo.

Micciché removed as Trapani Bishop

Bishop Francesco Micciché removed as Bishop of Trapani, Italy.

Kirkpatrick named Toronto Auxiliary

Bishop-elect Wayne Kirkpatrick was named Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and titular bishop of Aradi.

Mensah retired, Yaw Anokye named Kumasi Archbishop

Archbishop Thomas Kwaku Mensah retired and Archbishop-designate Gabriel Justice Yaw Anokye was named Archbishop of Kumasi, Ghana.

Archbishop-designate Yaw Anokye had been serving as Bishop of Obuasi.

Chakkalakal named Calicut Bishop

Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal was named Bishop of Calicut, India.

The diocese had been vacant since Bishop Joseph (Joy) Kalathiparambil was named Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People in February 2011.

Bishop Chakkalakal had been serving as Bishop of Kannur.

Mallari named San Jose Bishop

Bishop Roberto Calara Mallari was named Bishop of San Jose, Philippines.

The diocese had been vacant since Bishop Mylo Hubert Claudio Vergara was named Bishop of Pasig in April 2011.

Bishop Mallari had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of San Fernando.

Yapaupa named Alindao Coadjutor

Bishop-elect Cyr-Nestor Yapaupa was named Coadjutor Bishop of Alindao, Central African Republic.

Nzapalainga named Bangui Archbishop

Archbishop-elect Dieudonné Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp. was named Archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic.

The archdiocese had been vacant since the resignation of Archbishop Paulin Pomodimo in May 2009.

Nongo-Aziagbia named Bossangoa Bishop

Bishop-elect Nestor-Désiré Nongo-Aziagbia, S.M.A. was named Bishop of Bossangoa, Central African Republic.

The diocese had been vacant since the resignation of Bishop François-Xavier Yombandje in May 2009.

Agbenyadzi named Berbérati Bishop

Bishop-elect Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi, S.M.A. was named Bishop of Berbérati, Central African Republic.

The diocese had been vacant since the retirement of Bishop Agostino Giuseppe Delfino, O.F.M. Cap. in June 2010.

McGuckin named Toowoomba Bishop

Bishop-elect Robert McGuckin was named Bishop of Toowoomba, Australia.

The diocese had been vacant since the removal of Bishop William Martin Morris in May 2011.

Bobadilla Mata retired, Ramazzini Imeri named Huehuetenango Bishop

Bishop Rodolfo Francisco Bobadilla Mata, C.M. retired and Bishop Alvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri was named Bishop of Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

Bishop Ramazzini Imeri had been serving as Bishop of San Marcos.

Bishop Nguyên Van Thien Died (Emeritus of Vinh Long)

Bishop Antoine Nguyên Van Thien, Bishop Emeritus of Vinh Long, Viêt Nam, has died.

He was 106 years old and had served as a priest for 80 years and as a bishop for 51 years. He was the world's old living bishop. He also attended all 4 sessions of the Second Vatican Council.

May he rest in peace.

Jeż named Tarnów Bishop

Bishop Andrzej Jeż was named Bishop of Tarnów, Poland.

The diocese had been vacant since then-Bishop Wiktor Paweł Skworc was named Archbishop of Katowice in October 2011.

Bishop Jeż had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of the same diocese.

Oliverio named Lungro Bishop

Bishop-elect Donato Oliverio was named Bishop of Lungro degli Italo-Albanesi (Italo-Albanese), Italy.

The diocese had been vacant since the retirement of Bishop Ercole Lupinacci in August 2010.

Roa Barbosa named Ibagué Auxiliary

Bishop-elect Orlando Roa Barbosa was named Auxiliary Bishop of Ibagué, Colombia and titular bishop of Nasbinca.

Cheong Jin-Suk retired, Yeom Soo-jung named Seoul Archbishop

Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Jin-Suk retired and Archbishop-designate Andrew Yeom Soo-jung was named Archbishop of Seoul, Korea (South).

Archbishop-designate Yeom Soo-jung had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of the same archdiocese.

Giraldo Jaramillo retired, Ospina Leongómez named Buga Bishop

Bishop Hernán Giraldo Jaramillo retired and Bishop José Roberto Ospina Leongómez was named Bishop of Buga, Colombia.

Bishop Ospina Leongómez had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of Bogotá.

Happy Anniversary & Happy Birthday!!!

This year marks the 15th birthday of this project. Although the exact date was not recorded, it was started early in the year 1997 - and only consisted of 3 manually created and maintained pages.

It was originally started because, at the time, only a handful of dioceses around the world had websites. Simply put there was almost no information on the current (much less historical) Catholic Hierarchy on the web.

5 years later (and 10 years ago today), the website gained its new name and got its own domain: Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Statistics are only available from that time as well.

A more complete history of the project can be found on the site itself.

The site was "unified" (see the link above for more details) in August 2002 - meaning that is when it first covered the entire world. At that time it had entries for 8,700 bishops and 5,300 dioceses (current and historical).

Today the databases cover over 32,500 bishops (roughly 5,200 living, the rest historical). Dioceses are a bit more complicated - as that category now includes current dioceses (roughly 3,100), titular dioceses (roughly 2,200), Cardinal Titles (roughly 250), and historic dioceses make up the rest - totaling a bit over 9,100 now.

The databases also include over 220,000 bishop events, roughly 48,000 source references; 54,000 lineage records; 31,000 diocese statistical records; 12,800 diocese event records;  just under 2,000 external links; and a bit over 500 "group" records (consistories, conclaves, etc.) relating to over 17,000 bishop records.

In the past 10 years, people from around the world have visited the website 19 million times. During those visits that have viewed 123 million individual web pages. A total of roughly 2 terabytes of data.

In the average month (over the last year), there have been 116,000 unique visitors with 216,000 visits, viewing 1.2 million individual web pages.

Last month, the website had visitors from more than 165 countries! The top dozen were: USA, Poland, Italy, Vietnam, Germany, Brazil, France, Australia, Ghana, Mexico, Canada, and Belgium. Vatican City State even appears as #25.

All I can say is: Thank You!

I'm glad ya'll enjoy my little hobby!

Costa Souza named São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro Auxiliary

Bishop-elect Roque Costa Souza was named Auxiliary Bishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and titular bishop of Castellum Medianum.

Robson named Saint Andrews and Edinburgh Auxiliary

Bishop-elect Stephen Robson was named Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain and titular bishop of Tunnuna.

Cepeda Silva retired as Ecatepec Bishop

Bishop Onésimo Cepeda Silva retired as Bishop of Ecatepec, México, México.

Boiragi named Khulna Bishop

Bishop-elect James Romen Boiragi was named Bishop of Khulna, Bangladesh.

The diocese has been vacant since Bishop Bejoy Nicephorus D’Cruze, O.M.I. was named Bishop of Sylhet in July 2011.

Dziemianko named Pinsk Bishop

Bishop Antoni Dziemianko was named Bishop of Pinsk, Belarus.

Bishop Dziemianko had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of Minsk-Mohilev.

Chappetto and Sanchez named Brooklyn Auxiliaries

Bishop-elect Raymond F. Chappetto and Bishop-elect Paul R. Sanchez were named Auxiliary Bishops of Brooklyn, New York, USA and titular bishops of Citium and Coeliana, respectively.

Cárdenas Aregullín retired, Patrón Wong succeeded as Papantla Bishop

Bishop Lorenzo Cárdenas Aregullín retired and Bishop Jorge Carlos Patrón Wong succeeded as Bishop of Papantla, Puebla, México.

Bishop Patrón Wong had been serving as Coadjutor Bishop of the same diocese.

Poisson named Saint-Jérôme Auxiliary

Bishop-elect Raymond Poisson was named Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jérôme, Québec, Canada and titular bishop of Gegi.