One Catholic Church, Three Traditions: Tracing the CBCI’s Vision of Unity in India

Eight decades ago, Catholic bishops in India established a national body to coordinate their pastoral mission at a time when the country was moving toward independence. Today, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) brings together bishops from three distinct Catholic traditions, helping them address shared national concerns while preserving their different ecclesial identities.

Founded in 1944, the CBCI has evolved through major changes in the Church and Indian society, from the country’s independence and the Second Vatican Council to the development of a structure that fosters dialogue, social engagement, and cooperation among India’s Catholics.

Its history offers an example of how a national Church can build unity across diverse traditions while responding to the needs of a multireligious society.

From regional meetings to a national body

Christianity has a long history in India. According to ancient Christian tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle brought the faith to the Indian subcontinent in the first century. Today, India’s Catholic community includes the Latin Church and two Eastern Catholic Churches: the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Churches.

The institutional development of the Catholic Church in India accelerated in 1886, when Pope Leo XIII established its episcopal hierarchy. Bishops subsequently began meeting to exchange pastoral experiences and coordinate their work.

Earlier gatherings included the Conference of Indian Hierarchy, held in Mylapore in 1921 and Bombay in 1936.

In September 1944, the metropolitans of India met in Madras, now Chennai, amid discussions surrounding the independence movement and the framing of the country’s future constitution. They decided to establish a permanent association of Catholic bishops, giving birth to the CBCI.

The body was formally approved at the Plenary Council of India in Bangalore in January 1950, which adopted its statutes and elected a new Standing Committee.

Vatican II reshapes the Church’s mission

A major turning point came with the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), which encouraged the Catholic Church to renew its pastoral life and engage more closely with the modern world.

The council’s decree Christus Dominus, promulgated in 1965, emphasized cooperation among bishops through national episcopal conferences. In response, the CBCI reorganized its structures, revised its statutes, and expanded its national secretariat and commissions.

The CBCI Centre was established in New Delhi in 1966, providing a base for national coordination.

In 1969, the conference organized the All India Seminar in Bangalore under the theme “Church in India Today.” Its aim was to renew the Church and strengthen its service to the country in the spirit of Vatican II. The seminar’s recommendations helped shape subsequent pastoral planning and institutional reforms.

The CBCI was registered as a civil society organization in 1973, further formalizing its national role.

Unity across three Catholic traditions

One of the CBCI’s defining developments came in the 1980s, when questions arose about the distinct identities and governance of India’s three Catholic traditions.

Following Pope John Paul II’s 1986 visit to India, the pope wrote to the Indian bishops in May 1987, affirming the right of the Latin, Syro-Malabar, and Syro-Malankara Churches to establish their own episcopal bodies.

In 1988, the CBCI agreed to this arrangement. The three traditions subsequently developed their own structures: the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) for the Latin Church, the Syro-Malabar Bishops’ Synod, and the Holy Episcopal Synod of the Syro-Malankara Church.

The CBCI retained responsibility for matters of common national concern, including relations with the government, interreligious dialogue, and cooperation across the three Churches.

This arrangement reflects a distinctive feature of Indian Catholic life: unity does not require uniformity. Different liturgical, spiritual, and ecclesial traditions can maintain their identities while working together on issues affecting the wider Catholic community.

A national voice beyond the Church

Today, the CBCI coordinates initiatives across education, health care, social development, environmental concerns, justice, peace, communications, and interreligious relations.

It also works with other Christian communities through ecumenical platforms, including the National United Christian Forum, and supports dialogue and cooperation with people of other faiths.

Its national role is particularly significant in India, where Christians form a small minority within a religiously diverse population. Catholic institutions contribute to education, health care, humanitarian assistance, and services for marginalized communities.

The CBCI does not govern individual dioceses or replace the authority of their bishops. Rather, it provides a forum for shared reflection, coordination, and common action on issues that affect the Church nationally.

At its 37th biennial general body meeting in Bengaluru in February 2026, the conference elected Cardinal Anthony Poola, Archbishop of Hyderabad, as president, continuing its work through a national leadership structure.

Eight decades of shared responsibility

The CBCI’s history shows how the Catholic Church in India has adapted its structures to changing political, social, and ecclesial realities without abandoning its commitment to cooperation.

From the bishops who first established a permanent national association in 1944 to the three Catholic traditions working together today, the conference has helped create a common platform for pastoral planning and public engagement.

Its continuing challenge is to translate that unity into action: strengthening dialogue in a multireligious society, supporting the vulnerable, and contributing to the common good.

For the Catholic Church in India, eight decades of national coordination have demonstrated that diversity can be a source of strength when it is accompanied by shared responsibility and a common commitment to serving people.