ATLANTA—Since the spring departure of Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory from Atlanta to serve in Washington, D.C., many Catholics have questions about how the process of selecting a new archbishop works.

The Aug. 8 edition of The Georgia Bulletin includes a two-page infographic on the process, based on resources from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. We hope it will help readers learn more about the process and the key people involved in it from the apostolic nuncio to the Congregation for Bishops and ultimately Pope Francis.

The process of selecting bishops or archbishops is bound by strict confidentiality and is time-consuming, often taking eight months or more.

In a July visit to Atlanta, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the pope’s apostolic nuncio to the United States, encouraged patience.

“So the most important for the people of God in this archdiocese is to pray,” said Archbishop Pierre. “To pray that the Lord may give us a good shepherd. You know, because at the end of it, the work is God’s work. It’s not ours; we are just helping.”

Read “How Archbishops are Appointed” online, or on pages 24-25 of the print edition of the newspaper.

A video is also available about the process and can be found below.