Anapostolic vicariate is a territorialjurisdiction of theCatholic Church under atitular bishop centered inmissionary regions and countries wheredioceses orparishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often a promotion for a formerapostolic prefecture, while either may have started out as amissionsui iuris. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more. The hope is that the region will generate sufficient numbers ofCatholics for the Church to create a diocese one day.
It isexempt undercanon law, directly subject to the missionaryDicastery for Evangelization of the Vatican in Rome. Like the stage ofapostolic prefecture which often precedes it, the vicariate is not part of anecclesiastical province. It is intended to mature in developing Catholic members until it can be promoted to a (usually suffragan) diocese.
An apostolic vicariate is led by avicar apostolic, who is usually atitular bishop. While such a territory can be classed as aparticular church, according to canon 371.1 of the LatinCode of Canon Law, a vicar apostolic's jurisdiction is an exercise of the jurisdiction of thepope—the territory comes directly under the pope as "universal bishop", and the pope exercises this authority through a "vicar".[1] This is unlike the jurisdiction of a diocesan bishop, whose jurisdiction derives directly from his office.
Like any ecclesiastical jurisdiction, an apostolic vicariate may be administered by the bishop of a neighbouring diocese, or by a priest appointed transitionally as anapostolic administrator. As in a regular diocese, the vicar apostolic may appoint priests asvicars exercising limited jurisdiction over the apostolic vicariate. Normally, atitular bishop is appointed to administer the apostolic vicariate. When someone who does not qualify or has not been ordained as bishop is appointedad interim, he may be styledPro-vicar.[2]
An apostolic vicariate is to be distinguished from anapostolic prefecture, a similar type of territory whose chief distinction from an apostolic vicariate is that itsprefect is not atitular bishop, but a priest. The prefecture is not considered organised enough to be elevated to apostolic vicariate. The less developed instance is themission sui iuris, which other than the ones mentioned before is not a particular church, although it shares some similarities to one; at its head, anecclesiastical superior is named. The usual sequence of development is mission, apostolic prefecture, apostolic vicariate, and finallydiocese (or even archdiocese). See alsoapostolic exarch for an Eastern Catholic counterpart.
Inactive apostolic vicariates (and/or former names, often promoted to diocese) are initalics.Eastern Catholic (mostly Byzantine Rite) apostolic vicariates are inbold.
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