New Bishop and his cathedral... can he pick a new seat?

[andrew_ballew]

Can a newly ordained bishop change his seat to another parish? What does church law have to say about the picking and/or changing of the diosecean cathedral?

Thank you for your responses…

Andrew

 

[passus]

Yes, it would appear that for “reasonable motives” the diocesan cathedral may be moved–that is, "transferred from one church to another within the same city."The transfer of a cathedral can occur in two ways: First, the episcopal residence may be moved from one city to another within the same diocese, in which event the cathedral also would have to be changed; such a transfer would require the intervention of the Holy See, since it created the diocese and assigned the bishop to his first residence. Second, the cathedral may be transferred from one church to another within the same city, either to a church already in use or one built specially for the purpose. As the mere act of rebuilding does not necessitate a removal to another city and hence a change of episcopal title, this second kind of transfer requires no papal authorization. The consent of the bishop and the clergy of the cathedral would therefore regularly suffice, presupposing, of course, reasonable motives, e.g. inadequate size of the church, unhealthy or inconvenient location, etc.

oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Cathedral

 

[PacoG]

Along the same lines, can bishops maintain a second cathedra at a different church?

For instance, The Basilica of the National Shrine of San Juan del Valle has a bishop’s chair, as does the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.

Are those chairs of their local bishops or are do they belong to the pope because they are basilicas?

 

[andrew_ballew]

thank you for pointing out that section of Catholic Encyclopedia.

Sufficient reason for the transfer is left open for interpretation. Would anyone consider “more preferable architecture”, a valid reason? I wouldn’t, but what are your thoughts?

 

[passus]

Along the same lines, can bishops maintain a second cathedra at a different church?

For instance, The Basilica of the National Shrine of San Juan del Valle has a bishop’s chair, as does the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.

Are those chairs of their local bishops or are do they belong to the pope because they are basilicas?

Only basilicas called Papal basilicas actually have a papal chair in which only the pope can sit. There are four of them.

 

[Corki]

Along the same lines, can bishops maintain a second cathedra at a different church?

For instance, The Basilica of the National Shrine of San Juan del Valle has a bishop’s chair, as does the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.

Are those chairs of their local bishops or are do they belong to the pope because they are basilicas?

I don’t know about basilicas but here in our diocese, there are two cathedrals. The original cathedral is St. Mary’s in Galveston and there is a co-cathedral in Houston, recently rebuilt. The bishop’s (now cardinal’s) residence is in Houston as are the chancery offices but the original seat was Galveston.

 

[Aramis]

The Ruthenian Eparchy (Diocese) of Van Nuys maintains two cathedrals: Van Nuys and one in Arizona. The Arizona one is the actual residence of the Bishop.