Press Release

European Bishops to elect new President of COMECE

Delegates of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union will gather in Brussels on 7-9 March 2018 in order to participate to the 2018 COMECE Spring Plenary Assembly. They will elect a new President and four Vice-Presidents.

Pope Francis and COMECE President Cardinal Marx. (Credit: Web)

The EU Bishops will elect the new President of COMECE for a mandate of five-years covering the period 2018-2023. The future President will succeed to H. Em. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who held the reins of COMECE for two terms and, among other things, drove the process of the (Re)Thinking Europe Dialogue.

Delegates will have to elect among them members of their new presidency reflecting the diversity of cultures prevailing within the European Union.

Parallel to the new presidency, the Bishops will also elect the Chairmen of the COMECE Commissions on Social Affairs, Legal Affairs and External Relations of the EU. The Plenary Assembly will also have to vote on the mandates of the three COMECE Commissions as well as on the Working Groups on Migration and Asylum and on Ethics.

In addition to the elections, this closed-doors meeting will allow COMECE Bishops to discuss reports from the Secretariat on recent activities and to dialogue with high ranking officials on future EU challenges.

In this perspective, H.Em. Mgr. Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, will address them on the 7th of March, and Ms. Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will brief the Assembly on the Geopolitical challenges for Europe on the 9th of March.

On Wednesday 7th of March, COMECE and the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the EU will host a farewell reception in honor of H. Em. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, with the participation of Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the EU Commission.

On Thursday 8th of March, at 19h00, a Mass for Europe will be celebrated at the church of Notre-Dame du Sablon, Brussels, at the invitation of H. Em. Cardinal Joseph De Kesel. The Mass will mark the take-over of the newly elected President of COMECE. Participation to the Mass is open.


Media info
The Plenary Assembly is a closed-doors event. Prior registration (send an e-mail), journalists and media operators can join the Press Conference that will take place at COMECE on Friday 9th of March 2018, from 11:00 to 11:30, with the new President, the four Vice-Presidents and the General Secretary.

Due to limited space inside our facility, priority criteria may be adopted with regard to access. The press conference will be recorded in video and broadcasted on COMECE Youtube Channel immediately after it.

A Press Room will be arranged to facilitate the work of journalists.

During the event, COMECE website and social media will be updated constantly with photos and video interviews in various languages. Journalists can freely use this material by crediting COMECE.

For interview requests and other media enquiries, please contact COMECE Communication Officer.