From April 4-7, 2025, the current officers of the International Commission of Lay Dominican Fraternities (ICLDF) met in Rome, at Santa Sabina, for their first in-person gathering. Among those present were: Dr. Sébastian Milazzo, OP, International Coordinator of the Dominican Laity and President of the European Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities (ECLDF), from France; Mrs. Margareth Velásquez, OP, President of the Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities of Latin America and the Caribbean (COFALC), from Bolivia; Mrs. Kathy Kendrek, OP, President of the Dominican Laity Inter-Provincial Council (DLIPC), representing Canada and the USA; Mrs. Alphonsine Kouassimbengue, OP, from Côte d’Ivoire, representing Africa; Mr. Theo Atmadi, OP, from Indonesia, representing the region of Asia-Pacific; and fr. Cristóbal Torres Iglesias, OP, General Promoter for the Dominican Laity.
Among the topics discussed at the meeting were: Best practices and challenges of virtual formation for the Dominican Laity in each region; connecting the Dominican Laity across regions; and finalizing the Ratio Formationis Laicorum and final steps before presenting it for approval.
The gathering ended with a day-long pilgrimage to the House and Shrine of St. Catherine of Siena, patroness of the Dominican Laity, in Siena, Italy.
