About CBCI

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (C.B.C.I.) the permanent association of the Catholic Hierarchy of India, was constituted at the Metropolitans' Conference held in Madras in September, 1944. Its purpose is to facilitate common action of the Hierarchy in matters that affect or are liable to affect the common interests of the Catholic Church in India. Through it, the Bishops of India, conscious of their unity and solidarity in the episcopate, "jointly exercise their pastoral office by way of promoting that greater good which the Church offers to humankind, especially through forms and programmes of the apostolate which are fittingly adapted to the circumstances of the age" (C.D., 38.1). The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India was registered under the Societies Registration Act XX/ of 1860 (Punjab Amendment Act 1957), Regd. No. S/5962 of 15/1Oil 973.

CBCI Leadership

President

Most Rev. Andrews Thazhath

Metropolitan Archbishop of Thrissur

Vice President-I

Most Rev. George Antony samy

Metropolitan Archbishop of Madras - Mylapore

Vice President-II

Rt. Rev. Joseph Mar Thomas

Bishop of Bathery

Secretary General

Most Rev. Anil Joseph Thomas Couto

Metropolitan Archbishop of New Delhi

Deputy Secretary General

Rev. Fr. Mathew Koyickal

Director of CBCI Centre

CBCI at a Glance: United in Witness

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, established in 1944, exemplifies the unity and dedication of the Catholic Church in fostering faith throughout the nation. Guided by a deep-rooted commitment to the Gospel, this collective effort consistently fortifies the fabric of our diverse communities.

Founded

1944

Bishops

257

Dioceses

175

Churches

13309

Latin

The Latin Rite in India, characterized by its rich traditions and diverse communities, forms a significant part of the Catholic Church's heritage in the country. Rooted in centuries of faith and practice, the Latin Rite upholds the liturgical norms and canonical disciplines as practiced universally by the Roman Catholic Church.

Bishops190

Dioceses132

Churches9360

Syro-Malabar

The Syro-Malabar Church is an East Syrian Rite, Major Archiepiscopal Church in full communion with the Vatican. It is the second-largest Eastern Catholic Church after the Ukrainian Church and the largest of the Saint Thomas Christian denominations with roots tracing back to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.

Bishops65

Dioceses35

Churches2753

Syro-Malankara

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is an Antiochian Rite Major Archiepiscopal Church centered in Kerala, India. It traces its origins to the re-establishment of communion with the Catholic Church in 1930, led by Archbishop Mar Ivanios. It celebrates the liturgy according to the West Syrian liturgical tradition.

Bishops16

Dioceses12

Churches1196

History

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the permanent association of the Catholic Hierarchy of India was constituted at the Metropolitans’ Conference held in Madras in September, 1944. Right from the establishment of the CBCI, the CBCI Secretariat was functioning in Bangalore until 1962 when it was shifted to New Delhi.

Vision/Purpose

Its purpose is to facilitate common action of the Hierarchy in matters that affect or are liable to affect the common interests of the Catholic Church in India. Through it the Bishops of India, conscious of their unity and solidarity in the episcopate, “jointly exercise their pastoral office by way of promoting that greater good which the Church offers to humankind, especially through forms and programmes of the apostolate which are fittingly adapted to the circumstances of the age” (C.D., 38.1).

Ecclesiastical Organization

The CBCI is at the service of 174 dioceses out of which 31 are Syro-Malabar, 11 are Syro-Malankara and 132 are Latin dioceses. The Catholic Church in India is divided into 30 Ecclesiastical Provinces headed by their respective Metropolitans. Besides, it is divided into 14 Regions which function through the Regional Bishops’ Councils, with a Bishop Chairman, Bishop Secretary and a Priest Secretary.

New Ecclesial Reality

In the wake of the Letter of Pope John Paul II (1987) to all the Bishops of India, we have the ecclesial reality of three Episcopal Bodies with their own rights and ecclesiastical legislation. The three Individual sui juris (Ritual) Churches have their respective Episcopal Bodies: Conference of the Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) for the Latin Church, Syro-Malabar Bishops’ Synod (SMBS) for the Syro-Malabar Church and Holy Episcopal Synod for the Syro-Malankara Church.

The CBCI is the face of the Catholic Church in India and should deal with ‘questions of common concern and of national and supra-ritual character’ (Letter of Pope John Paul II). The CBCI is at the service of the three ecclesial bodies and the 14 Regional Councils of Bishops.

Besides other roles or functions, the CBCI Secretariat will:

Strengthen and foster the relations among the three sui juris Churches as communion; be a coordinating body for common programmes of inter-ritual and supra-ritual character involving the three Episcopal Bodies at the National level;
Promote advocacy on national issues; make representation to Government, liaising with the Central Government and Ministries/Departments of the Centre; influence government policies for nation building and development of peoples.
Network with other Christian Churches (v.gr. NCCI), organizations (v.gr. NUCF), associations of civil society and people of other religions and all people of good will to work for peace and harmony, for probity in public life, for promotion of human rights and Gospel values.

Office-Bearers

President, Vice-President-I, Vice-President-II and Secretary General.
The Deputy Secretary General, who is also the Director of the CBCI Centre, sees to the day-to-day functioning of the CBCI Secretariat and CBCI Centre.

General Body

General Body is composed of all diocesan eparchial Bishops in India and those considered equal to them by law, as well as co-adjutor and auxiliary Bishops, and other titular Bishops performing a special work in India entrusted to them by the Apostolic See or by the Conference shall be Ordinary members of the Conference. Retired Bishops and other titular Bishops, not ordinary members of the Conference, and residing in India, shall be Honorary members of the Conference. Ordinary General Body Meetings of the Conference are held every two years, while Extraordinary General Body Meetings are held according to need. At the General Body Meeting the Conference reviews the situation and assesses the progress of the Church in India, and, in the light of its own purposes, decides on plans that may be necessary, and action that may be called for.

At such Meetings the Reports of various Offices, National Centres and Regional Councils are submitted. While the Report of the Secretary General is published along with the Report of the General Body Meeting of the CBCI, the Biennial Reports of the CBCI Offices, National Centres and Regional Bishops’ Councils are printed separately just before the Meeting.

Standing Committee

The Standing Committee acts as the administrative board and is composed of:

The Office-Bearers of the Conference (President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary General);
The Presidents of the three Ritual Episcopal Bodies;
The Metropolitans (Archbishops of Agra, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bombay, Calcutta, Changanacherry, Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, Delhi, Ernakulam-Angamaly, Gandhinagar, Goa and Daman, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Kottayam, Madras-Mylapore, Madurai, Nagpur, Patna, Pondicherry-Cuddalore, Raipur, Ranchi, Shillong, Tellicherry, Tiruvalla, Trichur, Trivandrum [Syro-Malankara Rite], Trivandrum [Latin Rite], Verapoly and Visakhapatnam);
The Bishops-in-Charge of CBCI Offices, Councils and Chairmen of National Centres;
Co-opted members by the President of the Conference up to a maximum of four so that representation of the Orientals is about one fourth of the total membership of the Standing Committee.

The Standing Committee meets at least twice a year, mainly to see that the decisions, resolutions and recommendations of the Conference are duly implemented.

Functioning

CBCI functions through various Offices and National Centres/Institutes. Each Office has one Chairman and two Bishop Members with one Secretary. All National Centres/Institutes have one Bishop Chairman and a Director/Executive Director. It is to be noted that in view of the Reorganisation of CBCI which has been approved by the General Body during its Plenary Assembly held at Guwahati in 2010, following new terminology has been adopted: ‘Office’ instead of ‘Commission’ and ‘Secretary’ instead of ‘Executive Secretary’.

C.B.C.I Offices

Office for Doctrine
Office for Clergy and Religious
Office for Dialogue and Desk for Ecumenism
Office for Environment and Climate Change
Office for Education and Culture
Office for Health Care
Office for Justice, Peace and Development and Desk for Prison Ministry India
Office for Labour
Office for Scheduled Castes/Backward Classes
Office for Social Communications
Office for Tribal Affairs

C.B.C.I Councils

Council for Laity
Council for Women
Council for Youth

National Centres/Institutes

National Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre (NBCLC)
National Vocation Service Centre (NVSC)
Caritas India
St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences
National Institute of Social Communications, Research and Training (NISCORT)
CBCI Society for Medical Education, North India.