History

The European Parish Colloquium (CEP) was created thanks to the initiative of a French priest: Fr. François Connan At that time (1959) he was parish priest of the parish of Saint Séverin in Paris and, intusting the new horizons that the Second Vatican Council would open, he planned to organize a meeting of European parishes. This initiative had the full support of Cardinal König of Vienna and other bishops.
In the first meeting, in 1961, priests from seven nations participated: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Spain.
From then on they decided to meet every two years to share their experiences, share their ideas and work for a Europe understood as a community of peoples. Since 1973 it was attended by laymen, who are currently the majority of the participants.
Lately some bishops have attended the colloquia and have followed the work with interest. There are currently participants from 18 countries. These are men and women committed to their parishes, concerned about the future of Europe and interested in sharing experiences of evangelization.
Since its inception, priests and lay people from the dioceses of Catalonia have taken part. Mn. Josep M. Vidal i Aunós, priest of Barcelona, has been present since the first colloquium held in Lausanne, and has been a qualified promoter.