A mystery

The line of apostolic succession is supposed to reach all the way back to when Jesus laid his hands upon the Apostles and sent them forth to spread the Good News. Every Catholic bishop is the latest of a long long line that goes all the way back.

However, browsing Catholic-Hierachy.org, most bishops have their lineage traced back only as far as Scipione Cardinal Rebiba, who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Chieti, Italy on 16 Mar 1541. The problem though is that there is no existing record of his actual consecration as bishop.

In the 'Notes' section of THE EPISCOPAL LINEAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II, there is an account of why so many trace their lineages back to Cardinal Rebiba:

One startling fact emerges from this research: more than 91% of the more than 4,300 bishops alive today trace their orders back to a single bishop named in 1541 - Scipione Rebiba. Why so many bishops should trace their lineages to this one bishop can be explained, in great part, by the intense sacramental activity of Pope Benedict XIII, who consecrated 139 bishops during his pontificate, many of them cardinals, nuncios and bishops of important sees who in turn consecrated many other bishops. And it is the consecrator of Benedict XIII who gives us the direct link to Scipione Rebiba.

It is widely believed that Rebiba was consecrated by Gian Pietro Cardinal Carafa, who became Pope Paul IV, but no documentation of any kind has been found and therefore we must stop at Rebiba.

Does this make apostolic succession a dead letter? Hardly. Records are destroyed or lost over time, mistakes are made, etc. It's human nature. The tradition is by far more important than the paperwork. However, the mystery for historians and researchers is there and will remain front and center until evidence is found and they can turn their attention to some even earlier break in the record-keeping.