U.S. Bishops Announce 7 Key Agenda Issues of their November Plenary Assembly and AI Taskforce Update, Migration, and New Life in the Church

U.S. Bishops to Meet November 16-19 in Baltimore; Assembly to Be Livestreamed

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will gather for the 2026 Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, Maryland, November 16-19. The public sessions on November 17 and 18 will be livestreamed on the USCCB website.
October 20, 2026
WASHINGTON - The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will gather for the 2026 Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, Maryland, November 16-19. The public sessions on November 17 and 18 will be livestreamed on the USCCB website.

Throughout the week they are together, the bishops will have multiple opportunities to spend time in prayer and fraternal dialogue with one another. The public portion of the assembly will begin with an address by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the USCCB. The bishops will also hear from Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Papal Nuncio to the United States.

Among the first items of business for the bishops during the plenary will be to vote for a Conference secretary. The position is up for election as Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend was elected last November to complete the term left vacant when Archbishop Coakley was elected Conference president. The bishops will also elect chairmen of six USCCB committees; the bishops elected will serve for one year as chairman-elect before beginning a three-year term at the conclusion of the 2027 Fall Plenary Assembly. The bishops will also elect a new general secretary for the USCCB.

The plenary agenda has not yet been finalized and is therefore subject to change, but the agenda is expected to include: an update from the chairman of the USCCB’s newly created Task Force on Preserving Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence; one year since issuing their Special Message on Immigration, the bishops will receive an update from the chairman of the Committee on Migration; and the chairman of the Committee for Cultural Diversity in the Church will update the bishops on the Guadalupan Novena. There will also be a panel presentation on recent signs of new life in the Church, as indicated by a marked increase in the number of people entering the Church, and surveys indicating that young people are showing renewed interest in religion.

Votes are expected on a number of action items:

*a canonical consultation on causes of beatification and canonization of Maria Middleton and Thomas Steven Vander Woude;
*an update to the USCCB’s Diocesan Financial Reporting Guidelines;
*an update to the USCCB’s Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines;
*new edition of the Lectionary for Mass and Book of the Gospels;
*annual observance of a Day of Prayer for Racial Justice;
*approval from the body of bishops to review and begin updating the pastoral plan for the Secretariat on Pro-Life Activities;
*the USCCB budget for 2027.

The livestream of the public portions of the plenary on November 17 and 18 will be available at: www.usccb.org/meetings. Those wishing to follow the meeting on social media may use the hashtag #USCCB26 follow on Instagram (@USCCB), Facebook (@USCCB), TikTok (@USBishops), Threads (@USCCB), Bluesky (@usccbofficial.bsky.social) and X (@USCCB).

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USCCB Release