VATICAN CITY — The Vatican has confirmed the participation of 48 delegates chosen by bishops’ conferences to take part in this year’s synod on the family. 

Included on the list are all those elected by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, the largest archdiocese in the U.S, and Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, where the upcoming World Meeting of Families will be held, will be among those taking part in October’s gathering, according to the Vatican document.

Other U.S. delegates confirmed are Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, respectively the USCCB’s president and vice president.

Released Jan. 31, the list is the first of several documents that will specify the delegates elected by the various bishops’ conferences around the world who have been approved by the Vatican. 

Delegates listed in the announcement included seven from Africa; three from Asia; three from Oceana; 17 from Europe; and 10 from Central and South America.

Not every bishops’ conference was represented in Saturday’s list, as some still need to hold their general assemblies, where they will select their candidates and substitutes before sending the names to the Vatican for approval. These subsequent ratifications will be announced at a later time.

Around 190 prelates worldwide participated in the 2014 synod on the family. 

The names of other participants, such as auditors, experts and papal nominees, will also be released at a later date in the period preceding the synod.

This year’s synod will be held Oct. 4-25; it will be the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place over a 12-month period. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be the family, this time with the theme: “The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and the Modern World.”

The Jan. 31 list also confirmed the participation of alternates Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago and Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, who is the head of the USCCB’s defense and promotion of marriage subcommittee.

A preparatory document for the synod, formally known as the lineamenta, was sent to bishops’ conference in December 2014.