The Lay Fraternity of the Convent of Buenos Aires has marked 300 years of Dominican life, giving thanks for three centuries of prayer, study, fraternity, and apostolic mission in the spirit of Saint Dominic.
Members of the Fraternity gathered with Fr. Juan José Baldini, OP, Prior Provincial, to offer thanksgiving for a history that began in 1726, when a group of lay faithful responded to the call of the first Provincial of the young Dominican Province.
The founding moment is recalled with solemn gratitude: “On 1 July 1726, while Our Most Holy Father Benedict XIII, of the Sacred Order of Preachers, son of the great Guzmán, Our Father Saint Dominic, occupied the chair of Saint Peter, and while Don Philip V reigned in Spain, the Most Reverend Father Master Fray Gerardo de León, first Provincial of the Province of the Holy Trinity of Buenos Aires of the Order of Preachers, with his accustomed zeal, love, and devotion for his sacred Order, summoned some lay persons to his convent in order to establish and bring to light the hidden treasure of the Third Order of Preachers; and all, filled with its spirit, agreed to take the habit of the Third Order.”
Just a few days later, on 7 July 1726, the new fraternity gathered again and, by vote, chose Saint Vincent Ferrer as its patron. The choice was fitting: Saint Vincent was a tireless preacher, a man consumed by the proclamation of the Gospel and committed to the good of his neighbor.
The anniversary also offered an opportunity to remember those who have shaped the fraternity’s history. Among those historic members was Captain Don José Cipriano de Herrera, who was chosen as the first prior of the fraternity, a role that today corresponds to the president. The fraternity also recalls with gratitude two of its members recognized by the universal Church for their virtues: Blessed Cardinal Eduardo Pironio and the Servant of God Don Antonio Solari.
But this anniversary is not only an exercise of memory. As Dr. Bibiana Josefina Cano, OP, wrote in a letter published for the occasion, “we recognize that God has sustained us throughout time and confirmed us in our option of lay life under the charism of Our Father Dominic.” Across three centuries, she noted, the fraternity has known “many joys and many sorrows, lights and shadows,” but these have not discouraged its members; rather, they have helped forge their spirit.
Today, the Lay Fraternity of the Convent of Buenos Aires renews its Dominican commitment and entrusts itself to Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Rose of Lima, and Our Father Saint Dominic, asking the grace to continue preaching salvation “in season and out of season.”
The Dominican Family joins the fraternity in thanksgiving for these 300 years of fidelity and prays that its members may continue to bear witness to the Gospel with the joy, courage, and truth of Saint Dominic.
