The Central Preparatory Commission was the body that co-ordinated the preparation of the schemas for the Second Vatican Council. It was established by Pope John XXIII on June 5, 1960. It had 120 members, including cardinals and bishops, amongst them was Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini (the future Pope Paul VI), Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, and Cardinal Ottaviani who chaired the Commission.
Ten individual Preparatory Commissions worked on the draft material for the various subjects to be covered in due course in the constitutions and other documents issued by the Council: see Second Vatican Council#Preparation.
Nomination controversy It had been expected that the members of the preparatory commissions, where the Roman Curia was heavily represented, would be confirmed as the majorities on the conciliar commissions. Senior French Cardinal Achille Liénart addressed the council, saying that the bishops could not intelligently vote for strangers. He asked that the vote be postponed to give all the bishops a chance to draw up their own lists. German Cardinal Josef Frings seconded that proposal, and the vote was postponed. The very first meeting of the council adjourned after only fifteen minutes.
Members
Bernardus Johannes Alfrink Karl Joseph Alter Augustin Bea Octavio Beras Rojas Michael Browne Donald Campbell John D'Alton Julius Döpfner Pericle Felici – Secretary-general Josef Frings Denis HurleyHurley, D. E., Council Reminiscences, Symposium at the Fortieth Anniversary of Vatican II, updated on 25 September 2007, archived on 28 September 2007, accessed on 4 October 2025 Franz König Marcel Lefebvre Paul-Émile Léger Achille Liénart Giovanni Battista Montini Alfredo Ottaviani – Chair Jérôme Rakotomalala Joseph Ritter Ernesto Ruffini Leo Joseph Suenens Bernard Yago
See also
Ecumenical council
References