Lines Of Succession

This refers to the lineage of ordination of a bishop. After Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven the apostles brought the faith throughout the known world and created communities of believers. Before leaving these new communities they would select people from among the faithful and lay hands on them in prayer imparting a permanent grace on their souls.

These bishops, as they would come to be known, would in turn do the same to future generations of bishops in an unbroken line of ordinations that continues to today.

Validly ordained bishops often maintain charts of their Apostolic Succession so they may trace their ordination back to one or more of the Apostles selected by Jesus Christ.

National Catholic Church of North America bishops are consecrated with what is known as the Duarte-Costa lineage; a valid, easily-traceable line of succession named after Roman Catholic Archbishop Carlos Duarte-Costa of Botucatu, Brazil, from whom the line originated in 1949. Most Reverend Joseph D. Finnegan, CSFD, DMin

Consecrated Sub Conditione June 19, 2008

+Joseph Daniel Finnegan, was consecrated sub conditione to the episcopacy on June 19th, 2008 by +Lionel Joseph White, D.D., Presiding Bishop of Catholic Church in America and +Terry G Villaire. 

+Lionel Joseph White, D.D. was consecrated to the episcopacy on May 4th 2003 by +Michel Joseph Pugin, then Presiding Bishop of Catholic Church in America, and +Kenneth Maley, +James Burch and +Michael Carroll. Bishop White served as the Presiding Bishop for Catholic Church in America and continues, after the subsequent reorganization of the Church into the National Catholic Church of North America, as our current Presiding Bishop. 

+Michel Joseph Pugin, D.D. was consecrated on May 1st 1993 by +Justo Roque Gonzalez Trininio, Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of New York and Primate of the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America. He was assisted by +Jose Juan Villegas and +Joseph Hladney. 

+Justo Roque Gonzalez Trininio was consecrated on March 5th 1989 by +Luis Castillo Mendez, Patriarch Bishop of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil and president of the organization’s Episcopal Council. He was assisted by +Bartolomeu Sebastiao Viela, Coadjutor Bishop of Brasilia, Brazil for the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil. 

+Luis Castillo Mendez was consecrated on May 3rd 1948 by +Carlos Duarte-Costa, founder of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil and former Roman Catholic Bishop of Botucatu, Brazil. 

+Carlos Duarte-Costa was consecrated Roman Catholic Bishop of Botucatu, Brazil on December 8th 1924 by +Sebastiao Leme de Silveria Cintra (Roman Catholic Titular Archbishop of Pharsalus).

The remaining ordinations continue within the Roman Catholic Church to the See of Peter.

Consecrated to the Office of Bishop November 4, 2004

Roman Catholic Church

On 12 March 1566,

Cardinal Scipione Rebiba,

Bishop of Troia consecrated

Giulio Antonio Santorio,

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Santa Severina

who on 7 September 1586 consecrated

Girolamo Bernerio, O.P.,

Roman Catholic Bishop of Ascoli Piceno

who on 4 April 1604 consecrated

Galeazzo Sanvitale,

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bari

who on 2 May 1621 consecrated

Ludovico Ludovisi,

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bologna

who on 12 June 1622 consecrated

Luigi Caetani,

Roman Catholic Titular Patriarch of Antioch

who on 7 October 1630 consecrated

Giovanni Battista Scannaroli,

Roman Catholic Titular Bishop of Sidon

who on 24 October 1655 consecrated

Antonio Barberini (the younger),

Roman Catholic Bishop of Frascati

who on 11 November 1668 consecrated

Charles Maurice Le Tellier

Roman Catholic Bishop of Mieux

who on 21 September 1670 consecrated

Jaques Benigne Boussuet

who on 24 October 1693 consecrated

Jaques Goyon De Matigon,

who on 18 February 1719 consecrated

Dominicus Marie Varlet,

Roman Catholic Bishop of Babylon

who on 17 October 1739 consecrated

Old Catholic Church of Utrecht

Pretrus Meindaerts,

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht,

who on 11 July 1745 consecrated

Johannes Van Stiphout,

Old Catholic Bishop of Harrlem,

who on 7 February 1768 consecrated

Gualterus Michael Van Nieuwenhuizen,

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht,

who on 21 June 1778 consecrated

Adrianus Johannes Broekman,

Old Catholic Bishop of Harrlem,

who on 5 July 1797 consecrated

Johannes Jacobus Van Rhijn,

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht,

who on 7 November 1805 consecrated

Gilbert Cornelius De Jong,

Old Catholic Bishop of Deventer,

who on 24 April 1814 consecrated

Willibord Van Os,

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht,

who on 25 April 1819 consecrated

Johannes Bon,

Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem,

who on 13 November 1824 consecrated

Johannes Van Santen,

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht,

who on 17 July 1854 consecrated

Casparus Johannes Rinkel,

Old Catholic Bishop of Haarlem,

who on 11 May 1892 consecrated

Gerard Gul,

Old Catholic Archbishop of Utrecht,

who on 28 April 1908 consecrated

Old Catholic Church

Arnold Harris Mathew,

Old Catholic Bishop for Great Britain

who on 28 October 1914 consecrated

Frederick Samuel Willoughby,

who on 13 February 1916 consecrated

James Ingall Wedgwood,

Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church,

who on 13 July 1919 consecrated

Irving Steiger Cooper,

Liberal Catholic Regionary Bishop for the United States,

who on 13 September 1931 consecrated

Charles H. Hampton,

Liberal Catholic Regionary Bishop for the United States,

who on 22 June 1957 consecrated

Herman Adrian Spruit,

who became Archbishop-Patriarch of the Church of Antioch
(Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch, Malabar Rite)

who on 7 October 1980 consecrated

Meri Louise Spruit

Bishop of the Church of Antioch
(Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch, Malabar Rite)

who was enthroned as Archbishop-Matriarch on 26 January 1986.

who on October 10, 1993 consecrated

Willibrord Johannes Van Campenhout

Meri Louise Spruit consecrated Willibrord Johannes Van Campenhout; assisted by bishops Richard Gundrey and Joseph Philip Sousa,

William Donovan                                    November 14, 1993

Willibrord Johannes Van Campenhout consecrated William Dennis Donovan.

Robert Bowman                                                April 18, 1996

William Dennis Donovan consecrated Robert M. Bowman; assisted by Lima, Cover, Reeves, and McCormick,

Daniel Clay (Pugh)                                            July 22, 2001

Bishop Bowman consecrated Daniel Clay (Pugh); assisted by Bishops Morales, Rodig, and Rizo.

Joseph Daniel Finnegan                 November 4, 2005

The Principal Consecrator was Bishop Daniel Clay;

Co-consecrators: Bishops Orlando Lima y Aguirre Terry Villaire and  J. David Dolance.

References

Bransom, C. N. (1990). Ordinations of U.S. Catholic Bishops 1790-1989. Washington, D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, Inc.

Van Campenhout, W. J. K. (1993). Apostolic Succession in the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch. Creswell, OR: Church of Antioch Press.                                                           Revised 11/9/2005

Certificates of Ordination:                     

                        Bishop William Donovan

                        Bishop Robert Bowman

                        Bishop Daniel Clay (Pugh)

                        Bishop Joseph Daniel Finnegan