Central Preparatory Commission

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.