The military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical and episcopal office of the Roman Catholic Church, both Latin and Eastern Rites, directly subject to the pope. The ordinary is a prelate bishop responsible for the pastoral care of Roman Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation.
In most cases, a military ordinariate has a rank of an apostolic vicariate. In nations with wider military reach, the military ordinariate has the rank of a diocese. Outside of Italy, only the armed forces of the United States has been granted the special rank of archdiocese by Pope Pius XII, led by a prelate archbishop overseeing a corps of several bishops serving around the world.
Some nations have military ordinariates of the Anglican Communion, Lutheranism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
List of military ordinariates
