Plenary Assembly of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE)

The annual Plenary Assembly of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences in Europe will take place this year in St Gallen, Switzerland, on the occasion of the 1400^th anniversary of the arrival of St Gall in the canton of the same name. At the heart of their meeting the bishops will tackle the theme of “The challenges of our time: social and spiritual aspects”. From 27-30 September, the city of St Gallen will host the Plenary Assembly of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE), the continental body which gathers together the Presidents of the 33 Bishops’ Conferences in Europe, the Archbishops of Luxembourg and the Principality of Monaco, the Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus, the Eparchy of Mukachevo (the Ukraine) and the Bishop of Chisinau (Moldova). The full list of participants is available at the following address: ccee.eurocathinfo.eu. For four days (27-30 September) the leaders of the Catholic Church in Europe will tackle, with the help of experts, the social and spiritual aspects of the challenges facing Europe today. Other issues to be discussed by the Presidents will be: the question of discrimination against Christians in Europe and the persecution of Christians throughout the world; the question of freedom of religion; the work of the European Union and the Council of Europe; the Year of Faith; and the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops (Holy See), Cardinal Marc Ouellet, will attend the whole meeting. Cardinals and prelates responsible for other ecclesial continental bodies for Latin America (CELAM) and Africa (SECAM) will also be present in the canton’s capital, as well as invitees from Kazakhstan. Various bishops from the Swiss Bishops’ Conference will also attend some parts of the meeting. Representatives, too, from the civil and ecclesial institutions of the city and canton of St Gallen will also meet with the bishops. The meeting will take place in St Gallen, at the offices of CCEE, at the invitation of Mgr Markus Büchel, Bishop of St. Gallen.  

Thierry Bonaventura