The first meeting of the European Regents of Studies took place at the Convent of Saint Thomas in Ávila, Spain. The meeting was presided over by the Socius of the Master of the Order for Intellectual Life, fr. Michael Mascari. There were 22 regents from the different provinces and vicariates of the Order in Europe. The meeting and its organization was motivated by the Acts of the General Chapter of Rome in 2010 which recommended, “to all Regents of studies of each region of the Order to have a meeting at least once every three years preceding a General Chapter”.

The meeting began with a welcome address by fr. Juan Alonso Pedro Merino, the current chairman of the provincials of the Iberian provinces and Vicar of the Vicariate of Our Lady of the Rosary. After some highlights of the history of the hosting convent, fr. Juan Alonso encourage the participants to exercise the mission of study “with mercy and compassion”. “Ours - he added- is the right time to present a great service to the Church with our theological reflections which are, at the same time, faithful to tradition but not remaining as a mere repetition and preservation of answers of the past. Our reflection should have the creativity and boldness necessary to shed new light on the current situations of our faith in dialogue and openness to anyone who demands for our proposal, as it was taught by Jesus Christ in his Gospel”.

The objectives of the meeting focused on four important aspects of the intellectual mission of the Order in Europe and in the task of the Regents in their respective provinces and vicariates. Each one of these four aspects articulated the agenda for each day of the meeting.

• To reflect on the intimate relationship that should exist between an academic commitment to theology, the other human sciences and the life experiences of men and women of today. Fr. Carlos Rodriguez Linera, General Promoter for Justice and Peace assisted the Regents in this reflection with his dissertation on the intimate connection between pastoral experience and theological reflection. In this regard, he stressed the urgency to recover the incarnated mission of the Son of God incarnated. How is Dominican study rooted in contemporary reality? There is a historical legacy in the Order that would be of great help in establishing the aforementioned rooting. In the sixteenth century, for instance, some of the best Dominican theologians of Spain were able to enter into an intense dialogue on the specific issues and difficulties found by their missionary brothers when they went about preaching the Gospel in the Americas. This interaction and collaboration between the Dominican Theologians in Salamanca and the Dominican Preachers in the New World is, in the words of the Master of the Order, the “Salamanca Process”.

• To receive information about:

• The Centers of Studies under the immediate jurisdiction of the Master of the Order such as Saint Thomas Aquinas University (Angelicum), Rome; The Biblical and Archeological School of Jerusalem(École Biblique); The Leonine Commission and The Historical Institute. Fr. Michael Mascari provided a wonderful reflection on the relevance of these institutions and their necessary renewal in the coming years. The criteria for a renewal of those institutes must be those that reflect a Dominican community of study and prayer.
• The “New Projects” of the intellectual mission of the Order in Europe such as the Dominican University on line -DOMUNI-; the program of studies at the Dominican network in Paris (le reseau dominicaine à Paris); the Espace (Berlin-Pistoia); Project of the Chenu Institute (in collaboration with the Capuchins in Münster on the process of ‘secularization’ in the European societies); the weekly formation program in Dubrovnik; the Inter-religious dialogue with Islam in Turkey; the Aquinas Institute in Oxford and all other projects that promote a better knowledge of the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas.
• The challenges and difficulties of the intellectual mission of the provinces and vicariates in their respective centers of study.

• To dialogue and research new strategies of collaboration in Europe. A great challenge for the Dominicans in order to offer to the world, the Church and the Order in general a more and better coordination of their intellectual mission in Europe. The provinces in Europe are bearers of a living tradition. Their contribution to the intellectual mission has been highly appreciated and valued. Sadly there has been a perception that their intellectual institutions are lacking strength when they face the new challenges of contemporary culture.

• To review the Ratio Studiorum Generalis (RSG). The Permanent Commission for the Promotion of Study in the Order has begun a review process of the RSG, as instructed the Acts of the General Chapter of Rome in 2010. The strengths and weaknesses of the current ratio and its structure were analyzed during the meeting. Also there was an extensive discussion on possible new elements to considered in its revision.

The detailed preparation of the liturgy and taking into consideration not only the three official languages of the Order but also the historical, cultural and religious environment of the city of Avila enriched, without question, the gathering. All this has opened other dimensions equally necessary in the intellectual mission of the Order.