"Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees:
episcopate [bishops], presbyterate [priests], and diaconate [deacons]."
"...It confers a gift of the Holy Spirit that permits the exercise of a "sacred power" which can come only from Christ himself through his Church...it is a setting apart and an investiture by Christ himself for his Church."
"Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers.26 In the beautiful expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the bishop is typos tou Patros: he is like the living image of God the Father."–Catechism of the Catholic Church (1536, 1538, 1549