Florida Catholic Conference

The Florida Catholic Conference (FCC) was established on February 1, 1969, as an agency of the Catholic bishops of Florida. The five founding bishops served the four dioceses comprising the Province of Miami at the time: Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll of Miami; Bishop Paul F. Tanner of St. Augustine; Bishop William D. Borders of Orlando; Bishop Charles B. McLaughlin of St. Petersburg; and Bishop John J. Fitzpatrick of Miami. As the dioceses of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Palm Beach, and Venice were established, their respective bishops joined the FCC board of directors. Thomas A. Horkan, Jr., an attorney from Miami, was appointed the FCC’s first executive director and established the office in Tallahassee, Florida’s capital city.

In the mid to late 1960s, Catholic conferences were being established across the country. Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan, in his doctoral dissertation on the State Catholic Conference, stated that in establishing conferences, the Church is putting into practice three "very basic teachings of Vatican Council II...cooperation between bishops of a region, participation of laity in the Mission of the Church, and involvement of the Church in the community."

Since its founding, the FCC has taken an active and cooperative role in the health, education, and welfare of the people of Florida by consistently proclaiming the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person and promoting the common good. The FCC continues to provide and facilitate an accessible channel of communication by which the (arch)bishops of the Province of Miami may undertake and direct joint pastoral, educational, and social welfare projects that promote the material and moral well-being of the people of Florida.

Additionally, the FCC accredits and ensures the continual improvement of Catholic schools in Florida and serves as a liaison with the Florida Department of Revenue to ensure Church entities in the state maintain a valid sales tax exemption certificate.

For over four decades, the FCC served as the nonpartisan voice of the bishops of Florida, contributing to public policy and seeking to lead decision-makers toward just solutions that enable all Floridians to flourish. On March 19, 2012, the bishops established the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (FCCB), a new corporation under which they now engage in policy and advocacy activities related to state and federal legislation.

The archbishop and bishops of the seven dioceses in Florida constitute the board of directors of both entities.