Insight with Bishop Osei-Bonsu: What do sede vacante, Apostolic Administrator, Military Ordinariate and Military Ordinary mean?

If a Military Ordinariate is not a territorial diocese, why can it have a vacant see and an Apostolic Administrator?

Questions by Joshua Elikplim, London, United Kingdom:

My Lord Bishop, I would be grateful for some clarification on a few questions: who is an Apostolic Administrator; what does the term sede vacante mean; what is a Military Ordinariate; and who is the Military Ordinary, and what is his standing in the Church?

My questions arise from the announcement of 14 September 2026 that His Holiness Pope Leo XIV had appointed Most Reverend Pedro Luis Fuentes Valencia, C.P., formerly Titular Bishop of Temuniana, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of La Paz, and Apostolic Administrator of the Military Ordinariate of Bolivia, as Military Ordinary of Bolivia.

I have always understood an Apostolic Administrator to be appointed to govern a vacant diocese or other ecclesiastical jurisdiction until a permanent bishop or superior is appointed. I also understand a Military Ordinariate to be a personal jurisdiction for the pastoral care of members of the armed forces, rather than a territorial diocese.

My question, therefore, is this: if a Military Ordinariate is not a territorial diocese, why is an Apostolic Administrator appointed when it becomes vacant? Is this the same as the situation when a territorial diocese becomes vacant, or are there special canonical provisions for a Military Ordinariate?

I would also be grateful for clarification on whether the Military Ordinary holds the same authority as a diocesan bishop, and on how his jurisdiction differs from that of a diocesan bishop.

Answers by Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu:

The appointment of Bishop Pedro Luis Fuentes Valencia, C.P., as Military Ordinary of Bolivia by Pope Leo XIV on 14 September 2026 provides a good opportunity to explain four related terms: Apostolic Administrator, sede vacante, Military Ordinariate, and Military Ordinary.

Apostolic Administrator

An Apostolic Administrator is a person appointed directly by the Pope to govern a diocese or another ecclesiastical jurisdiction, usually when it is vacant or when its normal government cannot function. He is ordinarily a bishop, although in some circumstances a priest may be appointed.

His authority comes directly from the Holy See. Although his appointment is temporary, his authority is genuine and, while he remains in office, he generally has the powers and responsibilities of a diocesan bishop, except where the law or the nature of the office provides otherwise.  At the same time, an Apostolic Administrator is expected to govern with a certain restraint.  Since he is looking after a church that will eventually have its own bishop or ordinary, he should normally avoid making major or irreversible changes that can reasonably be left to his successor.

An Apostolic Administrator should not be confused with a Diocesan Administrator. When a diocese becomes vacant, the college of consultors normally provides for its temporary government by electing a Diocesan Administrator, according to Code of Canon Law nos. 419 to 421. The Holy See can, however, make other arrangements and appoint someone directly. When it does so, the person appointed is an Apostolic Administrator.

There is also another, much less common, use of the term “apostolic administration”. Code of Canon Law no. 371 refers to an apostolic administration as a stable ecclesiastical structure established for particular and serious reasons. This is different from the temporary appointment of an Apostolic Administrator to govern a vacant see.

Sede Vacante

The Latin expression sede vacante simply means “with the see vacant”. It refers to the period during which a diocese or other ecclesiastical jurisdiction has no bishop or ordinary in possession of the office.  A see or a diocese can become vacant for several reasons, including the death, resignation, transfer, or removal of its bishop. The diocese itself does not disappear during this period. It continues to exist, but it is temporarily without its own bishop.

This should be distinguished from an impeded see. In that situation, the bishop remains in office but is unable to exercise his pastoral responsibilities because of circumstances such as captivity, exile, or serious incapacity. The law makes separate provision for the governance of an impeded see.

Thus, when we say that the Military Ordinariate of Bolivia was sede vacante, we simply mean that its office of Military Ordinary was vacant and that someone had to be appointed to govern it temporarily.

Military Ordinariate

A Military Ordinariate is a particular jurisdiction of the Catholic Church established to provide pastoral care for Catholics who belong to the armed forces. Depending on its particular statutes, its pastoral responsibility can also extend to certain civilian personnel connected with the armed forces and to their families.

Its members ordinarily include military personnel, their spouses and children, and others who are entrusted to the Ordinariate according to its statutes. The Ordinariate can have its own priests and chaplains, and it may have its own structures for providing pastoral care.  Military Ordinariates were formerly known as Military Vicariates. Their canonical status was significantly clarified and strengthened by Pope St John Paul II through the apostolic constitution Spirituali Militum Curae, issued on 21 April 1986.

The constitution established that Military Ordinariates are juridically comparable to dioceses. This does not mean that a Military Ordinariate is literally a diocese. The important difference is that a diocese is primarily territorial, whereas a Military Ordinariate is primarily personal.

In an ordinary diocese, a bishop exercises his pastoral authority over the Catholics who live within a particular geographical territory. The Military Ordinary, however, exercises his authority over persons who belong to the Military Ordinariate, wherever their military duties may take them.  Thus, a member of the Bolivian armed forces who belongs to the Military Ordinariate does not cease to belong to it simply because he is transferred from one part of Bolivia to another or is sent abroad on military duty.

The Military Ordinariate of Bolivia was established on 19 March 1961. Its principal church is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Luján in Irpavi, La Paz.  The Military Ordinariate is directly subject to the Holy See and is not under the authority of the territorial diocesan bishop. Nevertheless, its members also remain members of the territorial Church in the place where they live. This means that the two jurisdictions are not intended to compete with each other but to work together for the pastoral good of the faithful.

The Military Ordinary And His Authority

The Military Ordinary is the person who heads the Military Ordinariate. He is normally a bishop and is appointed directly by the Pope.  Under Spirituali Militum Curae, the Military Ordinary has the rights and responsibilities of a diocesan bishop, unless the nature of the Military Ordinariate or its particular statutes require otherwise. His authority is ordinary power, meaning that it belongs to his office itself; it is not simply authority delegated to him by another bishop.

The Military Ordinary therefore teaches, sanctifies and governs the members of his Ordinariate. He can incardinate priests, establish chaplaincies and organise the pastoral structures needed to serve military personnel and their families. He also has the obligations that accompany episcopal office, including reporting to the Holy See and making the required visits to Rome.

The Military Ordinary is a member of the episcopal conference of his country and relates directly to the Holy See. He is not subordinate to the metropolitan archbishop of the territory in which the Military Ordinariate is located.

The principal difference between a Military Ordinary and a diocesan bishop lies in the nature of their jurisdiction, not in the dignity of their office. A diocesan bishop exercises territorial jurisdiction, meaning that his pastoral authority is based on the territory of his diocese.

The Military Ordinary, on the other hand, exercises personal jurisdiction, meaning that his pastoral authority is based on a person’s membership in the armed forces and the Military Ordinariate. Thus, a member of the armed forces and, where applicable, his or her family may be under the pastoral care of both the diocesan bishop and the Military Ordinary.

For example, a member of the armed forces who lives within a particular diocese remains under the pastoral care of the diocesan bishop because of his or her residence in that diocese. At the same time, the person is also under the pastoral authority of the Military Ordinary because of his or her membership in the armed forces.

This overlapping pastoral authority is called cumulative jurisdiction, and it belongs to both the diocesan bishop and the Military Ordinary: the diocesan bishop exercises it on the basis of territory, while the Military Ordinary exercises it on the basis of membership in the armed forces. Thus, neither authority automatically excludes the other, and both are expected to cooperate in caring for the faithful entrusted to them.

Military chaplains therefore do not simply replace the parish priest. Their ministry is exercised alongside the ordinary pastoral care of the territorial Church. In places such as military bases and barracks, the Military Ordinary and his chaplains have a particular responsibility, while cooperation with the local bishop remains important.

The Vacancy In Bolivia And Its Resolution

Since a Military Ordinariate is juridically comparable to a diocese, its office of Ordinary can become vacant in much the same way as the office of a diocesan bishop can become vacant.  Spirituali Militum Curae leaves the particular statutes of each Military Ordinariate to determine how provision is to be made when the office of Ordinary becomes vacant or impeded. The Holy See may therefore determine how the Ordinariate is to be governed during such a period.

This explains what happened in Bolivia. Bishop Pedro Luis Fuentes Valencia, C.P., who was serving as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of La Paz, was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the vacant Military Ordinariate of Bolivia in August 2022. He therefore governed the Ordinariate temporarily on behalf of the Holy See.

On 14 September 2026, Pope Leo XIV appointed him Military Ordinary of Bolivia. With this appointment, the temporary arrangement came to an end. Bishop Fuentes Valencia is no longer governing the Ordinariate simply as an Apostolic Administrator; he is now its proper Military Ordinary, with the stable authority attached to that office.

It is important, therefore, to distinguish the two roles. As Apostolic Administrator, he governed the vacant Ordinariate temporarily by appointment of the Holy See. As Military Ordinary, he now holds the ordinary authority proper to the office itself.

The Main Point

The easiest way to understand the whole matter is to remember that a Military Ordinariate is not technically a diocese, but it is juridically comparable to a diocese.  A diocese is principally organised around a territory; a Military Ordinariate is principally organised around a group of persons connected with the armed forces. Yet the Church gives the Military Ordinary many of the same rights, responsibilities and powers that a diocesan bishop possesses.

Consequently, a Military Ordinariate can have a vacant see, can have an Apostolic Administrator appointed to govern it during the vacancy, and can subsequently receive a Military Ordinary who becomes its proper head.  In the case of Bolivia, Bishop Pedro Luis Fuentes Valencia first served as Apostolic Administrator during the vacancy. With his appointment by Pope Leo XIV on 14 September 2026, he has now become the Military Ordinary of Bolivia in his own right.