Deaths vs Consecrations in a Year

This past year (2019), more bishops died than were consecrated.

In other words, there were fewer bishops at the end of the year vs the beginning.

While it is not common, it is not that unusual either.

The years of the two World Wars (1914-8 and 1939-45) all had more deaths than consecrations.

But there have been several other years since 1900 as well, as the table below illustrates.

Year	Consecrations	Deaths
2019	149	163
2012	144	149
1991	117	132
1931	72	80
1927	77	83
1905	57	73
1903	57	65
1900	71	72

May they all rest in peace.

Pre Pope John Paul II Bishops (updated)

So the question: How many active bishops were appointed to their current post before Pope John Paul II became Pope?

The answer is that only 2 remain.

The ordinaries are:

• Bishop Gilbert Guillaume Marie-Jean Aubry of Saint-Denis-de-La Réunion
• named 20 Nov 1975
• born 10 May 1942
• age 77.64 (as of 2 Jan 2020)


• Bishop Jean-Claude Bouchard, O.M.I. of Pala, Chad
• named 26 Feb 1977
• born 25 Sep 1940
• age 79.27 (as of 2 Jan 2020)

There are no longer any Auxiliary Bishops that meet the criteria. The last one retired in January 2012.

All of them were named by Pope Paul VI.

You'll notice that many of them are at or near the retirement age. Before they do retire, let us take a moment to thank them for their many years of service!