The first Conference of Indian Bishops was established in 1944 and given the name of “Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India” (CBCI). When the Second Vatican Council bestowed juridical status and recognition to National Episcopal Conferences, the CBCI began to reorganize itself by creating infrastructures such as National Commissions, Regional Councils of Bishops and National Organizations, working under its guidance and directives. The promulgation of the Latin Code of Canon Law in 1983 contributed to the debate about establishing a Conference exclusively for the Latin Catholic Bishops. Holy Father St. 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 statutes of the CBCI.” 

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Hence, in compliance with the above directive of the Holy Father, the CBCI, in its General Body meeting of April 1988, decided that all the three ritual Churches could have their own Episcopal Bodies. Accordingly, the Bishops of the Latin Church resolved, in that same meeting, to establish their own Episcopal Conference and named it “Conference of Catholic Bishops of India – Latin Rite” (CCBI-LR). In January 1994, the Holy See approved its Statutes. The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India is therefore an organization having its legal foundation in the Canon Law. According to Canons 447-459, the CCBI is the National Episcopal Conference of the Bishops in India and its purpose is to deliberate on matters of concern for the whole Latin Church in India 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. 

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The Bishops’ Conference is headed by a President, who is the overall in-charge and represents the Conference, with a Vice President and a Secretary General to assist him for a term of two years. The Office Bearers are assisted by the Deputy Secretary General and the Associate Deputy Secretary General. The Bishops’ Conference, in addition to Plenary Assemblies, has an Executive Committee to handle ordinary matters, besides Commissions, Departments, Apostolates and Secretariats. Currently, the CCBI comprises 132 dioceses and 215 Bishop members.