The Standing Committee is composed of the President and four Vice-Presidents elected by the Assembly from among its members with care taken to ensure that they are representative of the geographical distribution of the Episcopates of the European Union.
The members of the COMECE Standing Committee in front of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome. March 2023. (Photo: Cristian Gennari/Siciliani/COMECE)
The President’s and Vice-Presidents’ mandate lasts for five years and is renewable only once.
The Standing Committee meets twice each year and as often as the President considers it appropriate or when at least three of its members request it.
The main duties of the Standing Committee are: to prepare the matters to be submitted to the Assembly for examination; to oversee the implementation of the Assembly’s decisions; to issue, in case of necessity and on its own authority, acts or declarations; and to verify and promote the well-ordered and effective functioning of the Secretariat.
The current members of the Standing Committee are:
- H.E. Mgr. Mariano Crociata, Bishop of Latina, Italy (President)
- H.E. Mgr. Antoine Hérouard, Archbishop of Dijon, France (First Vice-President)
- H.E. Mgr. Nuno Brás da Silva Martins, Bishop of Funchal, Portugal (Vice-President)
- H.E. Mgr. Rimantas Norvila, Bishop of Vilkaviškis, Lithuania (Vice-President)
- H.E. Mgr. Czeslaw Kozon, Bishop of Copenhagen, Nordic Bishops' Conference (Vice-President)
The meetings of the Standing Committee include the participation of:
- Fr. Manuel Enrique Barrios Prieto, (General Secretary)
- Alessandro Calcagno (Assistant General Secretary)
- the Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union