Satisfactions in Episcopal Life and Ministry

Abstract

Bishops take seriously their vocations as “successors to the Apostles” and they feel the weight of the responsibilities placed upon their shoulders in an increasingly secularized and seemingly post-Christian era. However, as this chapter demonstrates, they do not allow those daily burdens and their concomitant frustrations to stifle their contentment. This chapter presents the overall very high levels of satisfaction among bishops, even higher than those reported by Catholic priests in the most recent national study of priests. We discovered that their burnout rates are very low even in the midst of such long and intense workdays. Their number one source of satisfaction is linked to their liturgical role. High satisfaction is also derived from their community leadership role. While they embrace their administrative work willingly, they do not report deriving great satisfaction from it.