The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) is an association of episcopal conferences of

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, Southeast, East and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. The federation fosters solidarity and joint responsibility for the welfare of the Church and of society in the region. The conference includes sixteen (or nineteen) Bishops' Conferences from

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(both the

CBCI The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) is the permanent association of the Catholic bishops of India. It was established in September 1944, in Chennai. The CBCI Secretariat was located in Bangalore until 1962, when it was shifted to t ...

and the individual conferences of the Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara and Roman Rites),

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

- Cambodia, Malaysia- Singapore- Brunei,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, Pakistan, Philippines,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Taiwan (RoC), Thailand and Vietnam and collective Bishops' Conference of Central Asia. Associate members are from Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, Nepal,

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

(Russia). Founded in 1970, the FABC was due to mark its 50th anniversary in 2020, but the celebration was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the 50th anniversary of the FABC was celebrated at Baan Phu Wan Pastoral Center, Archdiocese of Bangkok, Thailand, on October 12, 2022.

Member Bishops' Conferences

FABC-FederationAsianBishopsConferences-Map

Full members

* Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh *

Catholic Bishops' Conference of India The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) is the permanent association of the Catholic bishops of India. It was established in September 1944, in Chennai. The CBCI Secretariat was located in Bangalore until 1962, when it was shifted to t ...

** Conference of Catholic Bishops of India – Latin Rite **

Syro-Malabar Bishops' Synod lat, Ecclesia Syrorum-Malabarensium mal, മലബാറിലെ സുറിയാനി സഭ , native_name_lang=, image = St. Thomas' Cross (Chennai, St. Thomas Mount).jpg , caption = The Mar Thoma Nasrani Sl ...

Holy Episcopal Synod of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

* Bishops' Conference of Indonesia * Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan * Bishops' Conference of Central Asia * Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea *

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Laos-Cambodia The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (C.B.C.M.S.B.) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. The B.C.M.S.B reviews the position of the Church in Malaysia, Si ...

* Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar *

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan The Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference (PCBC) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Pakistan. Its objectives are to facilitate coordinated study and discussion of issues affecting the Church, and adoption of a common policy and e ...

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...

* Catholic Bishops' Conference of Sri Lanka * Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference ( Taiwan) * Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand * Episcopal Conference of Timor-Leste * Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam *Episcopal Conference of China *Episcopal Conference of Nepal *Episcopal Conference of Mongolia

Associate members

* Diocese of Hong Kong * Diocese of Macau * Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar ( Mongolia) * Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal

Former members

* Bishops' Conference of Kazakhstan (until 2022)

Presidents

*Cardinal

Stephen Kim Sou-hwan Stephen (often rendered as Latin Stephanus) Kim Sou-hwan (; May 8, 1922 – February 16, 2009) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and the former archbishop of Seoul, South Korea. Having been an iconic figure in South Korea's bloody an ...

, Archbishop of Seoul, South Korea (1973 – 1977) *

Mariano Gaviola y Garcés Mariano is a masculine name from the Romance languages, corresponding to the feminine Mariana. It is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese variant of the Roman Marianus which derived from Marius, and Marius derived from the Roman god Mars (see also ...

, Archbishop of Lipa, Philippines (1977–1984) * Henry Sebastian D'Souza, Archbishop of Calcutta, India (1984–1993) * Oscar Cruz, Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, Philippines (1993–2000) *

Oswald Gomis Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis ( Sinhala: ඔස්වල්ඩ් තෝමස් කොල්මන් ගෝමිස්) (born 12 December 1932) is the former Roman Catholic Archbishop of Colombo and the former Chancellor of the University of Co ...

, Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka (2000–2005) *Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, Archbishop of Cotabato, Philippines (2005 – 2011) *Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, India (2011 – 2018) *Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar (2019 - present)

Asian Youth Day

Asian Youth Day was started in 1999 under the auspices of the federation.
AYD 1 - 1999, Hua Hin, Thailand, “Asian Youth Journeying with Jesus Towards the Third Millenium”
AYD 2 - 2001, Taipei, Taiwan, “We are Called to Sanctity and Solidarity”
AYD 3 - 2003, Bangalore, India, “Asian Youth for Peace”
AYD 4 - 2006, Hong Kong, “Youth, Hope of Asian Families”
AYD 5 - 2009, Imus, Philippines, “YAsia Fiesta! Young Asians: Come Together, Share the Word, Live the Eucharist”
AYD 6 - 2014, Daejeon, Korea, “Asian Youth, Wake Up! The Glory of the Martyrs Shines on You”
AYD 7 - 2017, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, “Joyful Asian Youth! Living the Gospel in Multicultural Asia”

Member Bishops' Conferences

Full members

Associate members

Former members

Presidents

Asian Youth Day

See also

References

Further reading