On 21 November, 2023, the Master of the Order, Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, appointed Brother Roger Gaise, OP, a son of the Vice Province of St. Pius V, Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC), as the Socius for Africa. Brother Roger succeeds Brother Charles Ukwe, OP, of the Province of St. Joseph the Worker, Nigeria and Ghana.
Br. Roger was born on 08 January, 1964, in the Haut-Uélé Province of the DRC. He joined the Order in 1981 and made his first profession on 09 September, 1982. He studied philosophy at the Jesuit Institute of Saint Pierre Canisius in Kinshasa-Kimwenza and theology at the Facultés Catholiques de Kinshasa. He was ordained a priest on 05 March, 1989. He undertook successive licentiate and advanced diploma studies in theology at the same Faculty. In 1996, he was sent to the Albertinum Fribourg, Switzerland, for studies where he obtained his doctorate in Theology and licentiate in Philosophy. His doctoral thesis was titled, Les Signes Sacramentels de l’Eucharistie dans l’Eglise Latine, Etudes Théologiques et Historiques.
Br. Roger has served the General Vicariate and later the Vice Province of Congo in a variety of assignments. He was appointed assistant student master and the conventual syndic of the Convent of St. Dominic in Kinshasa in 1989. On his return from Fribourg in 2001, he was appointed Rector of the Université de l’Uélé, founded by the Congolese Dominicans and a part-time professor at the Catholic University of Congo until his appointment as Socius for Africa. He was Regent of Studies of the General Vicariate, and later also, of the Vice Province. He served as the Vicar General of the Vicariate of St. Pius V, from 2005 -2009. He was elected conventual Prior of the Convent of St. Kizito for two terms. Br. Roger served the IAOP in different capacities both as IAOP Councilor for Intellectual Life and IAOP Councilor for Formation.
Br. Roger has a proven passion for intellectual life, distinguishing himself in recent years through his publications with a particular focus on studies related to the sacrament of the Eucharist, including Les Péchés Liturgiques dans les célébrations Eucharistiques, a veritable vade mecum to guide Eucharistic celebrations according to the Roman rite. His book Les Signes Sacramentels de l’Eucharistie dans l’Eglise Latine, Etudes Théologiques et Historiques (Editions universitaires de Fribourg/Switzerland, 2001) is now a classic in the history of the sacraments.
