The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders of men: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing orders of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy o
Priests lay their hands on the ordinands during a Catholic rite of ordination.
Group photograph of an Irish family marking the ordination of a Fr. Burke in 1926
Prostration rite during the ordination of deacons of the Community of Saint Martin, Evron Abbey (2025)
Romanian Greek Catholic priest from Romania with his family.
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders and is responsible for teaching doctrine, governing Catholics in his jurisdiction, sanct
Latin Church Catholic bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller wearing the pontifical vestments and carrying a crosier
An Eastern Catholic bishop of the Syro-Malabar Church holding the Mar Thoma Cross which symbolizes the heritage and identity of the Syrian Church of Saint Thomas Christians of India
Johann Otto von Gemmingen, Prince-Bishop of Augsburg in Bavaria, 1591–1598, carrying a crosier and wearing a mitre and pluviale
Some of the insignia of a bishop's office (clockwise from right): crosier, pectoral cross, and episcopal ring.