All the members of the congress, men and women, appointed according to the Statutes (nos. 130, § 2 and 133, § 3) are summoned. To be a member of the congress, one must be at least 32 years of age and have been definitively incorporated into the Prelature for at least 9 years. They are appointed by the Prelate from among the faithful in the countries where the Work exercises its apostolate, with the deliberative vote of the central governing bodies (the Council for men and Advisory for women), taking the opinion of the person’s circumscription of origin into account. All the members of the congress are numeraries, and a large majority of them have done or are currently doing government work in the Prelature in the various circumscriptions. This facilitates their knowledge of the apostolic challenges of the places where they live and work.

Other faithful of the Prelature may also be called by the Prelate to collaborate as experts, having a voice but no vote (no. 130, § 4).

There are 274 members of the congress, 126 women (46%) and 148 men (54%). They come from Africa (6.6%), Asia (6.2%), Europe (50%), North and South America (36%), and Oceania (1.1%). This proportion corresponds to the total number of faithful of Opus Dei living in the respective continents.

90 priests will attend, representing 32.8% of the members of the congress. In elective congresses, the Prelate is elected from among the priests who are members of the congress.

Regarding the age range, the youngest member of the congress is 35 years old and the oldest is 87 years old.