The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is the permanent assembly of Catholic Bishops and Personal Ordinaries in the two member countries. The membership of the Conference comprises the Archbishops, Bishops and Auxiliary Bishops of the 22 Dioceses within England and Wales, the Bishop of the Forces (Military Ordinariate), the Apostolic Exarch of the Ukrainian Church in Great Britain, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and the Apostolic Prefect of the Falkland Islands.

The Conference exists to:

• give expression and practical implementation to the Bishops' collegial spirit;
• enable the bishops to collaborate pastorally in order to provide for the common good and to address issues which affect the faithful throughout the territory of the conference;
• assist the bishops individually and collectively in fulfilling their roles as teachers of the Catholic faith;
• foster relations with other Bishops’ conferences on both national and international levels in order to promote and protect the greater good

The Bishops meet together in plenary session twice a year, in the Spring and Autumn, and a Standing Committee of the Bishops meets four times a year. The General Secretariat of the Catholic Bishops' Conference has responsibility for overall administration of the Catholic Trust for England and Wales, the body established by the Bishops to be the main vehicle in civil law to carry out its activities at a national level.

To know more about the Santa Marta Group, click here