The second Intermediate Assembly of Lay Fraternities in the Province of Hispania convened in Madrid. Fraternity leaders discussed community life and formation, and reports were presented by the Provincial Council. The assembly concluded with the update of the lay directory.
Blessed Eduardo Pironio (1920-1998) maintained a lifelong connection with the Order of Preachers. Ordained in 1943, he joined the Third Order in 1947 and professed in 1948. Later, as Bishop of Mar del Plata, he sought the Order’s guidance for the Catholic University.
On 22 November 2023, the Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, has appointed Fr Carlyle Fortune, OP, as the new Rector of the Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine, Rome.
![Canonical visit of the Master of the Order to Iraq in the footsteps of Abraham [UPDATE]](https://www.op.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/HOME-Canonical-visit-MO-Iraq-370x230.jpg)
From December 27, 2023, to January 3, 2024, Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, Master of the Order, conducted a canonical visit to Dominican friars in Iraq, joined by Brother Alain Arnould, OP. The visit emphasized hope amidst challenges.
The Historical Institute of the Order of Preachers, in collaboration with Dominican Sisters Europe, organized a formation course on the ‘History, Tradition, and Spirituality of the Dominican Order’ from November 10 to 15, 2023, in Rome. Attended by twenty-three sisters from eight countries and nine congregations, the conference featured talks on the founding father St. Dominic, Dominican identity, Dominican saints in art, the history of Dominican sisters’ congregations, sanctity in female mystics, and more. The course also included visits to significant Dominican sites, a celebration at St. Peter’s Basilica, and discussions on justice and peace in the Order. The week emphasized unity in diversity, the richness of the Dominican intellectual tradition, and the importance of justice and peace in the mission of evangelization.
In response to the call of the General Chapter of Biên Hòa, co-operator brothers from Europe and Canada gathered at the Convent of Madonna dell’Arco (Naples) from December 11 to 15, 2023. Deepening their understanding of vocation, mission, and challenges, the meeting featured insights from Brother Alessandro Cortesi, OP, and Brother Vivian Boland, OP. Discussions on the vocation’s various aspects, reflections on St. Martin de Porres, and a firsthand account of combating slavery in Brazil enriched the fraternal encounter. Emphasizing the need to promote the co-operator brother vocation, participants departed with renewed fraternal support to enrich the Order’s preaching mission.
Pope Francis’ call echoes for young Dominican missionaries after their transformative experience in the Amazon. Strengthening faith and social commitment, their meeting shapes a synodal Church, a force for renewal, and a sign of hope. Entrusted by the Church to fervently preach in the Amazon, the youth faces the urgent tasks of caring for our common home and protecting human rights. Reflecting on formation, missionary fervor, personal and community ecological ethics, inspired by ‘Laudato si” and ‘Dear Amazonia,’ they become tangible expressions of Pope Francis’ vision for a Church with ‘Amazonian features.’
On November 30th 2023, brother Jean-Michel Poffet, OP of the Province of Switzerland was awarded the degree of Master in Sacred Theology. After the provincial of Switzerland, brother Benoît -Dominique de la Sougeole OP had read out the decree of the Master of the Order, Br. Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, conferring brother Jean Michel his degree, and the regent of studies of the province of Switzerland, brother Gilles Emmery, had pronounced the laudatio, the newly promoted Scripture scholar pronounced his magisterial lecture.
On November 25, 2023, in the Convent of Our Lady of the Rosary in Santiago de Chile, the friars gathered in Provincial Chapter re-elected Bro Juan José Baldini, OP, as Prior Provincial of the Province of Argentina of St. Augustine for the period 2023-2027. The election was confirmed by the Master of the Order, Bro Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, and Bro Juan José accepted on 26 November 2023.
On November 7, the renewal of the agreement between the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, the Order of Preachers, and the Swiss Bishops’ Conference on collaboration at the Faculty of Theology took place. Signed by the Rector Astrid Epinay, the Master of the Order Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, and Bishop Charles Morerod, OP, the agreement highlights a fruitful collaboration since 1889.
