In 1963, the Bishops of West Africa decided to form, in addition to the National Conferences,
a Regional Conference called C E R A O, the regional Episcopal Conferences of
French-speaking West Africa.

C E R A O is founded on four main pillars:

1. The Plenary Session
2. The Standing Council
3. The General Secretariat
4. The Chairmanship Council

The Plenary session is the body which makes important decisions and gives the guideline.
At the present moment, C E R A O is composed of sixty-one member bishops from eleven (11) countries. They are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo.