The Central Preparatory Commission was the body that co-ordinated the preparation of the schemas for the Second Vatican Council

Second Vatican Council

The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...

. It was established by Pope John XXIII

Pope John XXIII

-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

 on June 5, 1960. It had 120 members, including cardinals

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 and bishops

Bishop (Catholic Church)

In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....

, and was chaired

Chair (official)

The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...

 by Alfredo Ottaviani.

Nomination controversy

It had been expected that the members of the preparatory commissions, where the Curia was heavily represented, would be confirmed as the majorities on the conciliar commissions. Senior French Cardinal Achille Liénart

Achille Liénart

Achille Liénart was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Lille from 1928 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930.-Biography:...

 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
  Bernardus Johannes Alfrink
  Bernardus Johannes Alfrink was a Dutch Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Utrecht from 1955 to 1975, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960.-Biography:...
  
  

• Karl Joseph Alter

• Augustin Bea
  Augustin Bea
  Augustin Bea, SJ was a German scholar at the Gregorian University specializing in biblical studies and biblical archeology. He was confessor of Pope Pius XII. In 1959, Pope John XXIII made him cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first President of the Secretariat for Promoting...
  
  

• Octavio Beras Rojas
  Octavio Beras Rojas
  Octavio Antonio Beras Rojas was a Dominican Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Santo Domingo from 1961 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1976.-Biography:...
  
  

• Michael Browne

• John D'Alton

• Julius Döpfner
  Julius Döpfner
  Julius August Döpfner was a German Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1961 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958.-Early life and ordination:...
  
  

• Pericle Felici (Secretary-general)

• Josef Frings

• Denis Hurley

• Franz König
  Franz König
  Franz König was an Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958...
  
  

• Marcel Lefebvre
  Marcel Lefebvre
  Marcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970,...
  
  

• Paul-Émile Léger

• Achille Liénart
  Achille Liénart
  Achille Liénart was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Lille from 1928 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930.-Biography:...
  
  

• Giovanni Battista Montini

• Alfredo Ottaviani - Chair

• Jérôme Rakotomalala
  Jérôme Rakotomalala
  Jérôme Louis Rakotomalala was a Malagasy Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Tananarive from 1960 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969.-Biography:...
  
  

• Joseph Ritter

• Ernesto Ruffini
  Ernesto Ruffini
  Ernesto Ruffini was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Palermo from 1945 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.-Biography:...
  
  

• Leo Joseph Suenens
  Leo Joseph Suenens
  Leo Jozef Suenens was a Belgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel from 1961 to 1979, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1962....
  
  

• Bernard Yago
  Bernard Yago
  Bernard Yago was a Côte d'Ivoire Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Abidjan from 1960 to 1994, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983.-Biography:...