The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) is the national episcopal conference of the bishops of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in India, functioning in accordance with canon 447. There are 132 Latin Catholic dioceses in the country, and 190 active and retired bishops are the members of the CCBI. This is the largest bishops' conference in Asia and the fourth-largest in the world. The CCBI is a member of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India enables the Latin Catholic bishops of the country to exchange ideas and information, deliberate on the Church's broad concerns and take care of the pastoral needs of the faithful. The conference is to assist the bishops both in pastoral care and in evangelization, the twin duties of a bishop. One of the main purposes of the CCBI according to its statutes is "to promote that greater good which the Church offers humankind especially through forms and programmes of the apostolate which are adequately adapted to the circumstances of time and place."Statutes, art. 3:1
Historical background
In 1944 a conference of Indian bishops known as Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) was established. When the national episcopal conferences got the juridical and structural recognition during Vatican II, the CBCI began to reorganize itself with infrastructures such as national commissions, regional councils of bishops and national organizations working under its guidance and directives. The promulgation of the Latin 1983 Code of Canon Law in 1983 contributed to the debate about establishing a conference only for the Latin rite bishops. Pope John Paul II, after his visit to India in 1986, wrote an apostolic letter to the Indian bishops on 28 May 1987. An important text of which reads thus: "The bishops of each of the three rites have the right to establish their own episcopal bodies in accordance with their own ecclesiastical legislation. The CBCI which is an assembly of the bishops of India of the three rites is to continue for matters of common concern and of national and supra-ritual character. These areas are to be determined in the new statues of the CBCI".
In compliance with the pope's directive, the CBCI in its general meeting in April 1988 decided that all the three ritual churches could have their own episcopal bodies. Accordingly, the bishops of the Latin Church started their own episcopal conference in the same meeting and named it "Conference of Catholic Bishops of India – Latin Rite" (CCBI-LR). In January 1994, the Holy See approved its statutes. Hence, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India is an organization having its legal foundation in canon law, which applies to the Catholic church of the Roman rite throughout the world. Therefore, according to canons 447–459, the CCBI is the central church body of the bishops in India and its purpose is to deliberate on matters of concern for the whole Latin church and encourage activities in accordance with the needs of the times. The members of the CCBI are: 1) The diocesan bishops, their coadjutors, and auxiliaries, 2) The administrators of the dioceses when the Episcopal See is vacant, 3) The retired bishops and, 4) those honorary bishops appointed by the Holy See or the bishops' conference for particular tasks.
The bishops' conference is headed by a president, who is overall in-charge and represents the conference, a vice president and a secretary general to assist him for a term of two years. The bishops' conference, in addition to plenary assemblies, has an executive committee to handle ordinary matters, the commissions and the secretariat.
Organizational structure
At first, an ad hoc office bearers body consisting of a president and vice president was elected and a small team of four bishops forming the executive committee assisted it. At its Third Plenary Assembly in Goa (1991) a full team of office bearers was elected and an executive committee consisting of the office bearers, all the metropolitans of the Latin ecclesiastical provinces and the chairpersons of CCBI commissions was constituted. The Holy See approved its statues on 13 January 1994. At the lapse of five years in 1999 and in the light of the Apostolos Suos, the statutes were revised and the Holy See permanently approved them on 3 December 2000 (Prot. 5242/00). The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India was registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860. Regd. No.S/19920 of 1 May 1989.
Executive committee
The executive committee acts as the Administrative Board. It meets at least once a year mainly to see that the decisions, resolutions and recommendations of the Conference are duly implemented. It is composed of:
The office bearers of the conference (president, vice president and secretary general). The metropolitans (archbishops of Agra, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bombay, Calcutta, Calicut, Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Goa and Daman, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Madras-Mylapore, Madurai, Nagpur, Patna, Pondicherry-Cuddalore, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Trivandrum, Verapoly and Vizhakapattanam). The chairmen of the CCBI commissions.
Plenary Assembly
The Bishops of the Latin Catholic Church in India are the members of the Plenary Assembly of the conference. The Ordinary Plenary Assembly of the conference is held every year. Extraordinary Plenary Assemblies are held according to the need decided by at least a two-thirds of the members of the executive committee.
At the Plenary Assembly the conference reviews the situation and assesses the progress of the Church in India, and in the light of its own purposes it decides on plans that may be needed and actions that may be envisaged.
The reports of the twelve commissions, regional bishops' councils are submitted every two years in the Plenary Assembly. While the report of the secretary general is published along with the Report of the Annual General Body Meeting of the CCBI, the Biennial Reports of the CCBI Commissions and regional bishops' councils are printed separately just before the meeting. Whereas the reports of the various proceedings of the annual Plenary Assembly and reports of the secretary general are published every year. The reports of the commissions normally find place in the agenda booklet of the Plenary Assembly or they are printed in a separate booklet.
Plenary Assemblies 1st PA: 14 April 1988, Kottayam on Various Topics 2nd PA: 6, 7, 16, 17 November 1989, Sacred Heart College, Shillong on Various Topics 3rd PA: 6–8 January 1991, Pilar, Goa on Evangelization in India 4th PA: 6 &14 January 1992, Ishvani Kendra, Pune on Various Topics 5th PA: 4–6 January 1993, St. Pius College, Bombay Catechism of the Catholic Church 6th PA: 3–4 March 1994 Holy Family Hospital, New Delhi Various topics 7th PA: 5–7 January 1995, Morning Star College, Barrackpore (Calcutta) Pro-Life 8th PA: 12 & 22 February 1996, St. Mary's Malankara Major Seminary, Trivandrum, Various Topics 9th PA: 9–12 January 1997, St. Joseph's Seminary, Mangalore on Inculturation 10th PA: 18–20 March 1998, Nav Sadhana, Varanasi on Various topics 11th PA: 6–10 January 1999, St. John's Regional Seminary, Hyderabad on The Bishop Servant of the Gospel of Christ for the Hope of the World 12th PA: 25 – 28 January 2000, St. Joseph's Engineering College, Chennai on The Priest and the third Christian Millennium 13th PA: 10–13 January 2001, Morning Star College, Barrackpore (Calcutta), Laity in a Participatory Church 14th PA: 26–28 February 2002, Trinity College, Jalandhar, CCBI at the Service of the Community 15th PA: 15–19 January 2003, St. Paul's Seminary, Tiruchirapalli, Sharing the Good News 16th PA: 10 January 2004, Mary Matha Major Seminary, Trichur, Recommendations from the Special Commission for Evangelization 17th PA: 4–8 March 2005, Social Development Centre, Ranchi on Family 18th PA: 11 February 2006, St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore, One day PA further reflection on CCBI service of the Dioceses 19th PA: 4–9 January 2007, St. Joseph's Pontifical Seminary, Carmelgiri, Alwaye on The Vocation and Role of the Laity in the Life and Mission of the Church 20th PA: 16 February 2008, Xavier Institute of Labour Relations, Jamshedpur on Various topics 21st PA: 12–18 February 2009, Pallotine Theology Centre (Prabhodhana Mysore) on The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church 22nd PA: 27 February 2010, Don Bosco Centre, Guwahati on Various topics 23rd PA: 6–12 January 2011 Sacred Heart Seminary, Chennai on Catechetical Renewal, Essential for a Vibrant Church in India 24th PA: 5 February 2012, St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore on Various Topics 25th PA: 5–10 February 2003 Shrine Retreat House, Vailankanni, Pastoral Plan for the Church in India 26th PA: 9 February 2014, Alphonsian Pastoral Institute, Palai, Various topics 27th PA: 3–9 February 2015 St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, Liturgy and Life 28th PA: 6 March 2016 St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore on Various Topics 29th PA: 31 Jan - 8 Feb 2017, Pastoral Centre, Ashaniketan Campus, Bhopal, Promoting Love and Joy in Our Families 30th PA: 4 February 2018 St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore on Various Topics 31st PA: 7 to 14 January 2019 at Joe Animation Centre, Mahabalipuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu on "Joy of the Gospel 32nd PA: 16 February 2020 at St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore on Various Topics 33rd PA: 2 to 12 February 2021 at Xavier University International Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha(Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) 33rd PA: 11–12 November 2022 at St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore on Various Topics. 34th PA: 21 to 31 January 2023 at St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore on “Telling the Story of Jesus in our Context: The Synodal Way.” 35th PA: 30 January 2024 at St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore on Various Topics 36th PA: 28 January to 4 February 2025 at XIM University, Bhubaneswar on “Discerning Synodal Pathways for Mission.” 37th PA: 3 February 2026 at St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore on Various Topics
CCBI Secretariats in India
CCBI General Secretariat, Ne Delhi : The CCBI General Secretariat of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India is located in the national capital, New Delhi. The Deputy Secretary General operates from the General Secretariat. The Secretariat coordinates the ministries of the 16 Commissions, 7 Departments, and 4 Apostolates of the CCBI. The Commission for Migrants, the Public Relations Department, and the Legal Cell of the CCBI also function from the General Secretariat.
The first CCBI Secretariat was established in Goa in 1988. It was shifted to Delhi in 1992. In Delhi, it functioned from the CCBI Secretariat, Pitampura, from 1992 to 1995, and from the Archbishop’s House, Delhi, from 1995 to 1996. In 1997, the CCBI established its first independent Secretariat in Delhi at 9–10, Bhai Vir Singh Marg, New Delhi 110001.
In 2002, the CCBI set up a Secretariat in Bangalore for three Commissions and in 2003 the office of the Deputy Secretary General was shifted to Bangalore. In 2013, the CCBI Plenary Assembly held in Vailankanni decided to relocate the CCBI General Secretariat to New Delhi. The building was then handed over to Caritas India for their use.
In 2024, the CCBI took back the building and renovated it. After the renovation, the CCBI Secretariat in Delhi was blessed and inaugurated on 3 June 2025. Following this, the office of the Deputy Secretary General was relocated to the national capital, New Delhi.