coadjutor

Coadjutor is a term derived from Latin, combining co- ‘together’ with adiutor ‘helper,’ meaning a person who helps or assists with the authority to succeed. In ecclesiastical usage, a coadjutor is an assistant or designated successor who has a formal right of succession.

In the Catholic Church, a coadjutor bishop is a bishop appointed to assist the diocesan bishop and to have the right of succession. This means that when the current bishop vacates the see—through death, resignation, or retirement—the coadjutor automatically becomes the ordinary of the diocese. A coadjutor differs from an auxiliary bishop, who assists but does not possess a guaranteed right of succession. The appointment is made by the pope, and if the appointee is not already a bishop, he is consecrated to the episcopate at the time of appointment.

The concept also appears in other Christian traditions and in monastic settings, where a coadjutor may be an appointed successor to a superior such as an abbot, or a deputy with an anticipated path to leadership. In these contexts, the precise rights and duties can vary by jurisdiction and order but retain the core idea of a designated future leader.

Historically, coadjutors have been used to ensure orderly transitions in diocesan leadership, particularly when a bishop is elderly or ill. The term remains in canonical and ecclesiastical contexts as a formal mechanism for planned succession and continuity of governance.