An episcopal conference, often also called a bishops’ conference or conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to meet regularly, with its own legal structure and ecclesial leadership function, is the Swiss Bishops' Conference, which was founded in 1863. More than forty episcopal conferences existed before the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. Their status was confirmed by the Second Vatican Council and further defined by Pope Paul VI's 1966 ''

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

'', '' Ecclesiae sanctae''. Episcopal conferences are generally defined by geographic borders, often national ones, with all the bishops in a given country belonging to the same conference, although they may also include neighboring countries. Certain authority and tasks are assigned to episcopal conferences, particularly with regard to setting the

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

norms for the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

, a role affirmed in the Second Vatican Council's '' Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy''. Episcopal conferences receive their authority under universal law or particular mandates. In certain circumstances, as defined by

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, the decisions of an episcopal conference are subject to ratification from the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Individual

do not relinquish their immediate authority for the governance of their respective

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s to the conference.

Theological and juridical status

The operation, authority, and responsibilities of episcopal conferences are currently governed by the

1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of Ecclesiastical Law, ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the sec ...

(see especially canons 447–459) In addition, there are assemblies of bishops which include the bishops of different rites in a nation, both

Eastern Catholic The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

and

Latin Catholic The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion w ...

; these are described in canon 322 §2 of the

Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches The ''Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches'' (CCEC; , abbreviated CCEO) is the title of the 1990 work which is a codification of the common portions of the canon law for the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in the Catholic Church. It is divided i ...

. The nature of episcopal conferences, and their magisterial authority in particular, was subsequently clarified by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in his 1998 ''

'', ''Apostolos suos'', which stated that the declarations of such conferences "constitute authentic magisterium" when approved unanimously by the conference; otherwise the conference must achieve a two-thirds majority and seek the , that is, recognition of approval, of the Holy See, which they will not receive if the majority "is not substantial". In the 2013 apostolic exhortation, '' Evangelii Gaudium'',

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

expressed his concern that the intent of the Second Vatican Council, which would give episcopal conferences "genuine doctrinal authority, has not yet been sufficiently elaborated". On September 9, 2017, Pope Francis modified

, granting episcopal conferences specific authority "to faithfully prepare … approve and publish the liturgical books for the regions for which they are responsible after the confirmation of the Apostolic See." The

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

, which formerly had primary responsibility for translations, was ordered to "help the Episcopal Conferences to fulfil their task." On October 22, 2017, the Holy See released a letter that Pope Francis had sent to the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Robert Sarah, clarifying that the Holy See and its departments would have only limited authority to confirm liturgical translations recognized by a local episcopal conference. In late February, 2018, the Council of Cardinals and Pope Francis undertook a consideration of the theological status of episcopal conferences, re-reading Pope John Paul II's ''Apostolos Suos'' in the light of Pope Francis's ''Evangelii Gaudium''.

List of episcopal conferences

Source:

Africa

# Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé #

Episcopal Conference of Benin The Episcopal Conference of Benin or Bishops' Conference of Benin is the local assembly of bishops is the Episcopal Conference of Benin (, or CEB). The CEB is a member of the Regional Episcopal Conference of Francophone West Africa and the Symp ...

# Conference of Bishops of Burkina Faso and of Niger #

Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi (French language, French: ''Conférence des évêques catholiques du Burundi'', CECAB). is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in Burundi. The CECAB is a member of the Association des Con ...

Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) is an episcopal conference consisting of all the Bishop (Catholic Church), bishops of the Roman Catholic (term), Roman Catholic Church in Roman Catholic Church in South Africa, South Africa ...

(SACBC) # Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference #

Tanzania Episcopal Conference The Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) is the conference of bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania. Founded in 1956, the Episcopal Conference was officially recognized by the government in 1957. It includes all the Catholic bishops of ...

# Episcopal Conference of Togo #

Uganda Episcopal Conference The Uganda Episcopal Conference (UEC) or Episcopal Conference of Uganda is the local conference of Roman Catholic bishops in Uganda, established in 1960. The UEC acts primarily through the Uganda Catholic Secretariat in an effort to promote and ...

# Zambia Episcopal Conference # Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference

Asia

# Conference of the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions # Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh # Bishops' Conference of Central Asia # Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference # Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) #

Bishops' Conference of Indonesia The Bishops' Conference of Indonesia (BCI; , KWI) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Indonesia. It was constituted in November 1955, in Surabaya as the Supreme Council of Indonesian Bishops (). KWI is a part of the Federation o ...

(KWI) # Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan # Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea # Episcopal Conference of Laos and Cambodia # Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (CBCMSB) # Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar # Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan #

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (abbreviated as CBCP) is the permanent organizational assembly of the Catholic bishops of the Philippines exercising together certain pastoral offices for the Christian faithful of their terr ...

# Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand # Episcopal Conference of Turkey #

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka is the episcopal conference of Sri Lanka. As of June 2022 the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka is Bishop Harold Anthony Perera, the bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Kurunega ...

# Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam

Europe

# Episcopal Conference of Albania # Austrian Bishops' Conference # Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus # Episcopal Conference of Belgium # Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union # Bishops' Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina # Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria # Croatian Bishops' Conference # Czech Bishops' Conference #

Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Overview The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the permanent assembly of Catholic Bishop ...

# Bishops' Conference of France (CEF) # German Bishops' Conference # Holy Synod of Catholic Bishops of Greece # Catholic Bishops' Conference of Hungary # Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference # Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) # Latvian Bishops' Conference # Lithuanian Bishops' Conferencebr>
#

Maltese Episcopal Conference The Maltese Episcopal Conference () is the official Catholic Church, Catholic bishops' meeting in the Republic of Malta. Its president, as of 2024 is Charles J. Scicluna, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, Archbishop of Malta. The Confere ...

# Bishops' Conference of the Netherlands # Polish Episcopal Conference # Portuguese Episcopal Conference # Romanian Episcopal Conference # Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Russian Federation # International Bishops' Conference of Saints Cyril and Methodius # Scandinavian Bishops Conference #

Bishops' Conference of Scotland The Bishops' Conference of Scotland (BCOS), under the trust of the Catholic National Endowment Trust, and based in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, is an episcopal conference for archbishops and bishops of the Catholic Church in Scotland. The confer ...

# Conference of Slovak Bishops # Slovenian Bishops' Conference # Spanish Episcopal Conference # Swiss Bishops Conference # Ukrainian Episcopal Conference

Oceania

# Australian Catholic Bishops Conference # New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference # Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (C.E. PAC.) # Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands

North America

# Antilles Episcopal Conference #

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB; ) is the national assembly of the bishop (Catholic Church), bishops of the Catholic Church in Canada. It was founded in 1943, and was officially recognized by the Holy See in 1948. Since the Sec ...

(CCCB) # Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica # Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba # Conference of the Dominican Episcopate (CED) # Episcopal Conference of El Salvador # Episcopal Conference of Guatemala # Episcopal Conference of Haiti # Episcopal Conference of Honduras # Conference of the Mexican Episcopate (CEM) # Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua # Episcopal Conference of Panama # Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference (CEP) #

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic C ...

(USCCB)

South America

Argentine Episcopal Conference The Argentine Episcopal Conference () is an episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in Argentina that gathers the bishops of the country in order to discuss pastoral issues and in general all matters that have to do with the Church. The followi ...

(CEA) # Bolivian Episcopal Conference #

National Conference of Bishops of Brazil The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil'', CNBB) is a group of the Catholic Bishops of Brazil formed under the Code of Canon Law. All diocesan bishops in Brazil belong to CNBB along ...

(CNBB) # Episcopal Conference of Chile (CECh) # Episcopal Conference of Colombia # Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference # Paraguayan Episcopal Conference # Peruvian Episcopal Conference # Episcopal Conference of Uruguay # Venezuelan Episcopal Conference Notes

Other episcopal bodies

In addition to the episcopal conferences as defined by the Holy See, there are a number of other regional groupings of bishops:

Synods of eastern rite churches

Synods of Bishops of the Patriarchal and Major Archiepiscopal Churches *Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church *Synod of the Chaldean Church *Synod of the Catholic Coptic Church *Synod of the Greek-Catholic Ukrainian Church *Synod of the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church *Synod of the Romanian Church *Synod of the Syrian Catholic Church *Synod of the Syro-Malabarese Church *Synod of the Syro-Malankarese Church *Council of the Ethiopian Church *Council of the Ruthenian Church, U.S.A. *Council of the Slovakian Church

Assemblies of bishops

National assemblies of Hierarchs of Churches Sui Iuris (including eastern Catholic as well as Latin ordinaries) *Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy of Egypt *Assembly of the Catholic Bishops of Iraq *Assembly of the Patriarchs and Bishops of Lebanon *Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchs of Syria *Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land *Iranian Episcopal Conference * Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI)

International Meetings of Episcopal Conferences

* Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the East *

Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar or SECAM () is an agency of the Catholic Church that comprises the bishops of Africa. History The SECAM was born, on the occasion of the Second Vatican Council, to express the will ...

* Regional Episcopal Conference of Francophone West Africa *Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa * Association of Episcopal Conferences of the Region of Central Africa * Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa *Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa *Reunion of Episcopal Conferences of West Africa * Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences * Federation of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Oceania ( FCBCO) * Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE) * Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) *

Latin American Episcopal Council The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (; ), better known as CELAM, is a Episcopal Conference#Similar bodies, council of the Catholic Church, Catholic bishops in Latin America, created in 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ...

(CELAM) *Episcopal Secretariate of Central America and Panama

References

External links

List of all episcopal conferences
by Giga-Catholic Information
The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
by David M. Cheney {{Authority control Catholic canonical structures