Reflections from the Master of the Order on the Pope's letter
Reflections from the Dominican Family on the Pope's letter
NEWS
On 4 June 2021, the capitular friars of the Provincial Chapter of the Province of St. James of Mexico elected Brother Luis Javier Rubio Guerrero, OP as their Prior Provincial. The Master of the Order, Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP confirmed his election, and Br. Luis Javier accepted it and made the Profession of Faith. Br. Luis Javier was…
THE PONTIFICAL UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS ANNOUNCES THEOLOGY FOR A MISSIONARY CHURCH: FR. THOMAS JOSEPH WHITE IS THE NEW RECTOR OF THE ANGELICUM ROME – The Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome has named a new Rector Magnficus, fr. Thomas Joseph White, O.P. The Congregation for Catholic Education has given approval for the appointment by fr.…
The Master of the Order has appointed Members of the Commission that is requested by the last General Chapter (ACG 2019 Biên Hòa, 199): fr. Vivian Boland (Ireland) fr. Andrew Hofer (St Joseph USA) fr. Felicisimo Martinez (Rosary Province) fr. Anthony Akinwale (Nigeria) fr. Francis Nguyen Van Nhut (Vietnam) fr. Franklin Buitrago Rojas (Colombia) sr. Hedvig Deák (Hungary) Erik Borgman…
Brother Augustin Wiliwoli Sibiloni, O.P. , was born in Isiro, Democratic Republic of Congo, on October 25, 1977. He received the habit of the Order on August 8, 1999 and made his first profession on August 8, 2000. He was solemnly professed in 2005 and ordained to the priesthood on August 19, 2012 by Bishop Julien Andavo, the Bishop of…
Brother Ricardo Guardado Flores, O.P., was elected Prior Provincial of the Province of St. Vincent Ferrer in Central America on May 18, 2021, during its fourth Provincial Chapter at the Casa de Espiritualidad San Benito, Heredia in Costa Rica. The election was confirmed by the Master of the Order on the same day and Bro. Ricardo accepted his election on…
On the day of Pentecost, May 23, 2021, the Master of the Order, Bro. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, O.P., appointed Bro. Mark Christopher Padrez, O.P., as Vicar of the Master of the Order. He succeeds Bro. Miguel Angel del Rio, O.P., who had been serving in this capacity since February 2017, and whom we thank for his service. Bro. Mark…
To Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner, O.P.,Master General of the Order of Preachers Praedicator Gratiae: among the titles attributed to Saint Dominic, that of “Preacher of Grace” stands out for its consonance with the charism and mission of the Order he founded. In this year that marks the eight hundredth anniversary of Saint Dominic’s death, I gladly join the Friars Preachers…
The Dominican Family is profoundly grateful to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, for writing Praedicator gratiae, his inspiring and encouraging letter to the Order on the 8th Centenary of the dies natalis of St. Dominic of Caleruega. The incipit (title) of his letter echoes the historic event when Pope Honorius III confirmed preaching as the mission of the Order and…
Prot 50/21/183 Letters to the Order We have decided, the Holy Spirit and us[1]…(Acts 15:28). This is a remarkable moment in the history of the Church. Faced with division, the Church takes a decision in an unprecedented way. James, leader of the Jerusalem community, pronounced this bold judgment, the first outcome of an arduous communal discernment of a nascent church, together…
On 24 April 2021, the Holy Father Francis received in audience His Eminence Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. During the audience, the Supreme Pontiff confirmed the conclusions of the Ordinary Session of the Cardinals and Bishops, members of the Congregation, and decided to extend to the universal Church the cult of Blessed Margaret…
Even in darkness, God can accomplish his great works: from the act of Creation over the dark and formless void, to the Exodus from Egypt after the evening of the Passover; then, at Bethlehem, the Lord Jesus was born in the darkness of night; He gave us the Eucharist and the priesthood on that fateful evening at the cenacle; When he died on…
MOST HOLY FATHER, Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner III O.P., Master General of the Order of Preachers, on the occasion of the Holy Solemnities that will be celebrated for the 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Dominic in Heaven, from 6th January 2021 to 6th January 2022, offers Your Holiness the affection of due obedience and filial veneration and asks:…
Prot. 50/21/094 MO Message Iraq Rome, 3 March 2021 Msgr. Youssif Thomas Mirkis, Archbishop of Kirkuk and SulaimanyaMsgr. Michael Najeeb, Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul and AkraSr. Clara Nas, Superior General of the Sisters of St. CatherineSr. Bernadette Youssef, Vice-Provincial of the Middle East of the Sisters of the PresentationBr. Rami Simon, Superior of the House of Epiphany in BaghdadBr. Najeeb…
Brother Augustin Laffay, O.P., Archivist of the Order of Preachers (Rome), has been appointed by the Holy Father as a member of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences. The news was published in the Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office on Monday, February 22, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Born in 1965 in France, Br. Augustin lived…
On November 27, 2020, the Master of the Order appointed as the new Rector of the Convitto Internazionale San Tommaso, Brother Orlando Rueda Acevedo, O.P., who had just completed his six years as Socius for Apostolic Life. Since, according to its Statutes, the Convitto is a residence of the Order for the permanent formation of diocesan and religious clergy, established…
The new Prior Provincial of the Philippine Province of the Order of Preachers is Brother Filemon I. dela Cruz, Jr., O.P. Brother Filemon was born on January 19, 1964, in Manila. He is the fourth child of Mr. and Mrs. Filemon and Cezarina dela Cruz. He entered the Dominican Pre-Novitiate in June 1980 and was vested with the habit of…
In the district of Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines, there lived a very a pious, wealthy and generous couple- Don Ignacio Arroyo and Doña Maria Pidal Arroyo. They repeatedly expressed to the Most Rev. James P. McCloskey, Bishop of Jaro their desire to contribute to the establishment of a religious congregation in the diocese. They not only pledged part of their…
In the Acts of the General Chapter of Florence in the year 1321 we read the following words: « Because it was said to the first preachers: “do not let yourselves be called rabbi, for one is your Master and you are all brothers,” we strictly forbid, that a brother of our Order who is a Master in Theology, when…
The missionary outlook of the Dominicans towards the most vulnerable First issue of the publication on indigenous peoples. A well-designed presentation for this new publication of missionary reflection. Madrid, 4 March 2021. Selvas Amazónicas – Misioneros Dominicos is launching a new magazine format to show and analyse the reality that is lived in the different places where Dominicans are present…
Alcide Lataste was born in France, in Cadillac in the Gironde, on September 4, 1832. After secondary school, he worked for a few years as a tax controller in different towns in the south of France: Privas, Pau and Nérac. These years were an opportunity for him to discover, as a member of the Conferences of Saint Vincent de Paul…
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem” (Mt 20:18)Lent: A Time for Renewing Faith, Hope and Love Dear Brothers and Sisters, Jesus revealed to his disciples the deepest meaning of his mission when he told them of his passion, death and resurrection, in fulfilment of the Father’s will. He then called the disciples to share in this mission for the…
It was a convent without walls in which Sr. Maura Clarke and Sr. Ita Ford lived. They were two sisters of Maryknoll, better known as the “Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic”, who, from the beginning to the end of their religious life, immersed themselves in missionary life, alongside the poorest, to the point of martyrdom. Just over forty years have…
Fr. Mike, the Dominican Family – especially in Spanish speaking countries – will be happy to receive a new contribution to Justice and Peace with this book. Can we still say that there are Dominicans who are dedicated to the defence of the most vulnerable? Where do we find them and who do they defend? There remain so many Dominicans…
The year 2020 has immersed us in a vital journey of multiple dimensions, to take care of our lives and maintain hope in uncertain contexts. From an educational point of view, this was a radical change, since in our country, Argentina, we only had nine days of face-to-face meetings with our students to suddenly go through a whole school cycle…
El mejor reconocimiento: saber que nuestro trabajo merece la pena Redacción de Radio Seybo El pasado 17 de octubre, Radio Seybo ganaba el Premio del Público en la 8ª Muestra de Cine y Video en Defensa de la Vida y el Territorio. Cuando en agosto nos planteábamos participar en esta muestra, organizada por la Red Tz’ikin de Realizadores-as Independientes de…
Fratelli Tutti, “You are all brothers” (Mt 23:8) ENCYCLICAL LETTERFRATELLI TUTTIOF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCISON FRATERNITY AND SOCIAL FRIENDSHIP On the 3rd of October Pope Francis signed his third encyclical letter “Fratelli tutti” during his visit to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi. “Fratelli Tutti” (FT) was published on October 4th, the feast of St. Francis, whose life inspired this…
Christus in vobis, spes gloriae Colossenses 1:27 Dear Brothers and Sisters, O Spem Miram! O Wonderful Hope! This is our hymn to St. Dominic, the father and first brother of our Order. The usual images that evoke hope are a new-born baby, a brilliant dawn, flowers and fruits of spring time, depictions of new life and new beginnings. In this time of…
“You shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8) Happy day to the promoters of communication “54th World Communications Day” The feast of the Transference of our father Saint Dominic and the prayer for communicators on the “54th World Communications Day” is a happy coincidence to encourage the Communications Promoters of the different entities of the Order of Preachers. The Ascension of…
13 March 2020 On March 6th, a delegation from the École Biblique of Jerusalem was received at the Institut de France by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (AIBL) as part of the celebration of the centenary of the École’s recognition as an École archéologique française. The theme of the day was “The Taste of the Orient” (originaly, in French :…
Rome, 15 March 2020 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? For God will hide me in his shelter in time of trouble,He will conceal me in the cover of his tent. Psalm 27:1,5 Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Dominican Family, As…
Basilica of Santa Sabina will stay closed for health prevention of COVID19 from the 3rd of April, 2020 Dominican friars thank you for your understanding for all people full of faith who come to pray in the Basilica of Santa Sabina and also to whom visit it for its great historical value. At the health level, we are living a…
We are dust in the universe,” he said. “Yet we are dust loved by God.” In the afternoon today – Ash Wednesday, the day of the beginning of Lent – a prayer assembly took place in the form of the Roman “Stations”, presided over by the Holy Pope Francis. At 4.30 p.m., in the church of Sant’Anselmo on the Aventine,…
Organized by Dominicans for Justice and Peace, the Justice, Peace and Environmental Dominican Commission in Ivory Coast and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs May 21st, 2021 In many African countries, juvenile justice systems still lack a restorative approach despite improvements in legislations. Boys and girls are found incarcerated without alternatives because they…
The International Commission of Nuns, which now gathers 18 representatives of the different Federations of Monasteries of Dominican Nuns, was convoked by the Promoter General, Brother Fernando García, O.P., on February 18, 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of last year’s assembly. This year, however, the meeting was conducted via the online platform with nuns participating from four…
Brother John Nwanze, O.P., was born in Lagos in 1946 and grew up under the tutelage of Dominicans. He was among the early altar servers the first American Dominicans that arrived Nigeria groomed in the 1950s. He started his seminary studies in St. John Vianney Seminary, Jos, in Northern Nigeria, however, the outbreak of the Nigeria-Biafra civil war forced him…
Invited by the coordination team of the Interprovincial Conference of the Dominicans of Latin America and the Caribbean (CIDALC), the novitiates of the region met on February 26 at 3:30 p.m. Rome time through the virtual platform Zoom. The fraternal meeting with the novices of Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Argentina included a reflection on formation presented by…
“One of the characteristics of Dominican spirituality is to work with people who, in one way or another, live on the peripheries of society, whether they be students or prisoners”, explains Ludovic Namurois who is in charge of the Dominican lay fraternities in Belgium. “Without much planning or goals, we simply get on with things. It is about being available…
Over 27 novices and six Novice Masters, from Europe, gathered virtually via Zoom for a presentation from Br. Gianni Festa O.P., Postulator General of the Order on Dominican spirituality entitled, “Rediscovering the face of the Father in the faces of his sons and daughters today’’ Br. Gianni began by stating that 2021 will be an important year for the Dominican…
Rome, December 16, 2020 Two Dominican friars were ordained to the Priesthood in the Provincial Vicariate of Rwanda and Burundi, Province of Canada. They are Br. Olivier Kwihangana, O.P., a Rwandan, ordained on October 17, 2020 in the Chapel of St. Albert the Great House, Nyagatare, Rwandan; and Br. Désiré Bizimana, O.P., a Burundian, ordained on November 15, 2020 in the Dominican…
Rome, 16 October 2020To all the members of the Dominican Family Dominican Month for Peace 2020Final letter Prot. 50/20/360 Promoter of J&P Dear Brothers and Sisters,We sent you a letter on 27 July, announcing that the focus of our annual Dominican Month for Peace for 2020 would be on Ukraine. We hope that his letter was widely distributed and that…
December 2020 Here are some suggested prayers for each day of Advent in December, the Month of Peace within the Order of Preachers. Each year this Dominican Month of Peace is dedicated to a given country, this year we look to Ukraine. You may freely use these prayers for your community prayer. Particular attention will be given to one project,…
Convent of Santa Sabina, 26th November 2020 As part of their permanent formation, the brothers of the Santa Sabina Convent in Rome invited Father Hans Zollner SJ, President of the Centre for Child Protection in Rome, to give a lecture on the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. After Father Zollner briefly described his institution, he devoted himself…
Sor María Cinta y la fundación del Monasterio de la Inmaculada Concepción Hoy que la vida se torna más preciada que nunca, tenemos la dicha de compartir con la Familia Dominicana un breve testimonio de los 100 años de vida de nuestra querida Madre María Cinta Rocher Tallada, O.P. Sor María Cinta nació el 6 de noviembre de 1920 en…
Nació como un encuentro regional de miembros de la familia dominicana que pretendían compartir diferentes experiencias apostólicas mediante las nuevas maneras de predicación. En sus primeras versiones, bajo la creativa y excelente coordinación de la Hermana Valeria Nougués, de las Dominicas Tucumanas, este grupo fue ampliando la participación de hermanos y hermanas de diferentes regiones, incluyendo a profesores, historiadores, artesanos,…
El día 6 de septiembre de 2018 se quebrantó la paz en la «Tierra de Dios», en la provincia de El Seybo, donde un fuerte poder político y económico destruyó 212 viviendas de campesinos con la complicidad del Abogado del Estado. Lo más lamentable es que se pasaron por alto todos los diálogos y acuerdos de paz entre el hacendado…
International Meeting for Justice and Peace 2020 IDCJP MEETING 2020 The International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace (IDCJP) held its annual meeting from 1-7 October. For the first time, this meeting was held online, because of the restrictions due to the pandemic. Fortunately, this was not a stopper for the commission to meet, evaluate and work on an action…
Preaching through private television A broadcast apostolate in Germany Is it possible to make Catholic programmes on private television? How can faith issues be adequately discussed in a minute and a half? To what extent is the Catholic Church involved in major societal debates? Reflection by brother Max Cappabianca OP from Berlin. Since 2017 I have been moderator of the programme…
Meeting of the Dominican Students of History (Rome 22-25 September 2020) A meeting of Dominican students of history, organised by the Historical Institute of the Order in collaboration with the General Archives and the General Postulation, was held in Rome from 22 to 25 September 2020. After the last meeting of this kind in the Jubilee Year 2016 in Toulouse,…
“No display of bizarre piety, simple humanity. Too simple for hagiographers and chroniclers of long-lasting knowledge”: so writes Simon Tugwell in his Homage to a Saint (in the Italian edition of G. Bedouelle, Dominic. The Grace of the Word), a prayer he addresses to St Dominic. “Simple humanity”: Dominic lived in a period of changing times and new challenges for…
It is eight hundred years since St. Dominic died! This is an occasion for the Church to “give thanks for the spiritual fruitfulness of that charism and mission, seen in the rich variety of the Dominican family” (PG 1). As Georges Bernanos wrote in the last century, Dominic’s face is now merged with that of his Order: “If it were in…
St. Francis and St. Dominic were reputed to be friends and so it is beautiful that the first Pope named after St.Francis has sent this in this Letter a gift of warm fraternity to the brothers and sisters of St.Dominic, on the 800th anniversary of his death. The Holy Father begins by saluting Dominic as the “Preacher of Grace”. The…
The 8th centenary of St. Dominic’s Easter has multiplied our joy with the message that Pope Francis has addressed to the Master of the Order. I would like to express my gratitude using the words of O Lumen, the antiphon that the Dominican Family sings in celebration of the Saint from Caleruega. Light of the Church: Dominic wanted to live…
Faced with the profound transformations that mark the contemporary world, the Pope once again underlines the need for a renewal of evangelization. In this year of thanksgiving, he encourages us and all the baptized to inscribe ourselves in what was Dominic’s missionary impulse, animated by a hope for the world and for mankind. A hope for the world, whose name…
On 6th January this year, the Jubilee of the Eighth Centenary of the death – dies natalis – of St. Dominic of Caleruega (c. 1274-1221), which happened on 6th August 1221 in a humid, sweltering Bologna, was inaugurated throughout the Order of Preachers. With the Apostolic Letter Praedicator gratiae, addressed to the whole Dominican Family all over the world, Pope…
The Dominican historian Brother Simon Tugwell, in the first of his series of articles on Dominic of Caleruega, published in 1995 in the journal Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum, entitled one chapter “Dominic and his Popes”. There he discussed the personal relationship Dominic had with the first two Popes of the thirteenth century, Innocent III (1198-1216) and Honorius III (1216-1227): it was…
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news (Isaiah 52:7). Saint Dominic must have had beautiful feet because he allowed those feet to make him an apostle to the peripheries proclaiming Veritas, refuting error and bringing His blessings to all. Those feet were surely holy feet–pure like the virginal lily; fiery and restless like…
First of all I would like to thank the Holy Father for this letter to the whole Dominican family. In it he encourages us and urges us to live our Dominican charism more intensely – in my case as a contemplative nun. Our father St. Dominic was, above all, a man of prayer and contemplation. At that time he saw…
The important, profound letter from Pope Francis addressed to the whole Order in this Jubilee year warmly stirs our communities of contemplative life, reminding us of the commitment and involvement that we nuns have had since the beginning of the “Holy Preaching”. Our Region of South America and the Caribbean, thanks to the merciful love of God, has beacons that…
“The witness of evangelical fraternity (…) remains a fundamental element of the Dominican charism. “This is what we can read in Pope Francis’ beautiful letter to the Order! As Dominican nuns, we live, like all the other branches of the Order, according to the Rule of St. Augustine: “The first thing for which you are gathered together is to dwell…
Pope Francis, our shepherd, writes to us Dominicans “imploring [for us] the grace of perseverance in fidelity to [our] founding charism”, so that we may participate in the work of the universal Church. Nor could it be otherwise, since the Order of Preachers, as a group of proclaimers of Grace and the Gospel, shares in the mission of the Church…
In his letter marking the 800th anniversary of the ‘birth of St. Dominic into eternal life,’ Pope Francis gave our Order a fantastic summary of the Dominican vocation and charism. Grace and unity are two words that I ponder as I receive this letter as a gift which renews my own enthusiasm for the Dominican life. As an apostolic Sister,…
I must express my amazement at the precision and insight the pope speaks about our way of life as Dominicans. Surely, he gives an impression of saying things that are both obvious and archaic to every Dominican. He tries to get at the things that must be already behind us as history; yet he brings them out in a way…
Two phrases from Pope Francis’s Praedicator Gratiae strike me in particular. First, when he says that as a student in Palencia Dominic “came to appreciate the inseparability of faith and charity, truth and love, integrity and compassion.” Secondly, when in speaking of the importance of life in common in the Dominican tradition and how it inspires a “synodal” form of…
To Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner, O.P.,Master General of the Order of Preachers Praedicator Gratiae: among the titles attributed to Saint Dominic, that of “Preacher of Grace” stands out for its consonance with the charism and mission of the Order he founded. In this year that marks the eight hundredth anniversary of Saint Dominic’s death, I gladly join the Friars Preachers…
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THE ORDER OF PREACHERS
A WORD OF THE MASTER
The pilgrimage of the Master of the Order to Lourdes, Toulouse and Fanjeaux
After having been elected at the General Chapter of Bièn Hoa in Vietnam on 13 July 2019, the Master of the Order made several visits to the brothers in different provinces. Gerard Francis Timoner III has described as those of his "novitiate as Master of the Order" (celebration in Fanjeaux, 6 October 2019).
