Confirmation and "Your Excellency"

[Jen95]

It is my understanding that when someone is speaking directly to a bishop, that one should address him as “Your Excellency”.
However, I think that during every confirmation ceremony I’ve ever seen, the sponsor says “Bishop, I present to you Francis” rather than “Your Excellency, I present to you Francis”.
To me, this sounds a bit like “hey lady”, that is, informal almost to the point of rudeness.
Am I wrong about this? Has anyone ever heard “Your Excellency” in this context?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Never heard it and a lot of bishops don’t want to be addressed in that manner.

 

[twf]

I was at a confirmation Mass yesterday (as a catechist - sadly no parents were allowed inside due to the Covid restrictions). The deacon addressed the bishop as “your excellency”.

 

[Jbrady]

To me, this sounds a bit like “hey lady”, that is, informal almost to the point of rudeness.

It isn’t. Not by a long shot.

Has anyone ever heard “Your Excellency” in this context?

I haven’t. And to me it sounds over-formal to the point of being stilted or even cute.

Titles like this have been in the process of being abandoned for quite a long time now, as the concept of hereditary nobility becomes less familiar with each passing generation. This is especially true in the US, where hereditary nobility was abandoned almost 250 years ago.

 

[edward_george1]

“Your Excellency” is still the form of address for a Bishop, and there’s nothing wrong with using it in formal contexts. Honestly, we could do with some more formality and civility in this day and age.

That said, there’s nothing wrong with referring to the Bishop as “Bishop.”

-Fr ACEGC

 

[OrbisNonSufficit]

Has anyone ever heard “Your Excellency” in this context?

I have, but mostly from people of other faith or on the internet.

In Slovakia, we usually say “Father Bishop” and Bishops seems to be more than fine with that. Some older people use “Mr. Bishop” when speaking in 3rd person about Bishop at least, but even Priests use “Father Bishop” when talking in 3rd person about their Bishop so that’s probably standard. When talking about other Bishops they use “Father Bishop (Surname)”. When Bishops talk about other Bishops they use this form as well so I do suppose that’s the norm.

And when it comes to Eastern Catholic Bishops, going by Father Bishop is fine (viewed as somewhat Latinized though) but there is Slavic word “Vladyka” which is used for them. It roughly translates to “Bishop” but I haven’t ever seen anyone call them “Father Vladyka” but just “Vladyka”. Maybe context is different. Anyway in direct translation one might say they are called “Bishop (Surname)”, or just “Bishop” when talking to them.

 

[Dolphin]

At mine we were told to say bishop

 

[Glennon_P]

It’s up to the individual Bishop to select how he wants to be addressed. +Archbishop Daniel Sheehan of Omaha was known to introduce himself as “Father Sheehan”.

There’s the story about a Bishop at a Confirmation Mass. He asked what happens if one died in a state of mortal sin. An earnest young man raised his hand, and when the Bishop called in him he stood up and said, “Bishop, you go to hell!”

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I seem to recall many years ago at my confirmation, the sponsors didn’t address the bishop but were simplly told to step forward with the person being confirmed and state the confirmation name.
Guess they had to dumb it down for us proles.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

I can recall seeing seminarians or other “excited” folks approach our late Archbishop and address him as “Excellency” while going down on one knee to kiss his ring. He allowed it, but you could tell he wasn’t particularly fond of it. He usually told people to address him as “Archbishop”.

 

[Welshrabbit]

Isn’t it also customary to address a Bishop as “Your Grace” in parts of Europe?

 

[Jbrady]

I can recall seeing seminarians or other “excited” folks approach our late Archbishop and address him as “Excellency” while going down on one knee to kiss his ring. He allowed it, but you could tell he wasn’t particularly fond of it.

Pope Francis is not fond of it either, especially of people grabbing his hand when he doesn’t hold it out to them to kiss. There is a video of him getting rather irritated by a group of well-wishers who just don’t seem to get the point.

 

[Jen95]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! I just wondered about it. I learned a lot!

 

[twf]

Archbishops are Your Grace in the UK and Commonwealth countries- including here in Canada.

 

[Anesti33]

My bishop has made it clear by the example of his Curia and interviewers that he prefers to be addressed as “Bishop”. That being said, he does not rebuke me or anyone for using “Your Excellency” and he is quite traditional, so I suppose he is just not really into the pomp and ceremony surrounding his office when it comes to personal meet and greet.

Now a funny anecdote about my own Confirmation in 2001. I was an adult of 29, and none of us knew that our revered bishop would not hold his office for much longer. He addressed the faithful present in his homily with a “good evening, everyone” and everyone reflexively responded “good evening, Father!” and one lone voice lamely, belatedly, added “…Bishop!”

Another thing our current bishop likes to do is venerate the Book of Gospels, and so those who are experienced in attending Pontifical Masses will wait and remain standing while the Book is brought to His Excellency to venerate with a kiss, and then we are permitted to sit. But it catches many people unawares!

You can always tell who does not often meet the bishop around here, I can tell you that!

 

[ktfranke]

In our diocese, the proper style is your excellency, primarily during rite of election and confirmation mass. That being said, to people closer to the Bishop, he most certainly prefers bishop. I would therefore decipher that there is a differential between formal style and informal rhetoric

 

[MPat]

Less than 24 hours ago, in the ingress of new Archbishop of Kaunas, Kęstutis Kėvalas (there is a video by Lithuanian national TV - Iškilmingas naujojo Kauno arkivyskupo Kęstučio Kėvalo ingresas - LRT) bishops were also addressed by “Jūsų Ekscelencija” (“Your Excellency”), just as the President of Lithuania (or former Presidents). Representative of Eastern Orthodox (their Metropolitan of Vilnius and Lithuania) addressed the new archbishop by “Ваше Высокопреосвященство” (transliterated as “Vashe Vysokopreosvjashhenstvo”, literally something a bit like “Your High-Enlightedness”). Catholic Archbishop of Vilnius addressed the new archbishop by “Brangus broli” (“Dear brother”).

Some cultures use formal addresses more than others.