The Chapter brothers, gathered in the Provincial Chapter at the Monastery of Estavayer-le-Lac, elected brother Guido Vergauwen as Prior Provincial for a second mandate on Tuesday, January 8.
Brother Guido, son of the Vice-Province of Saint Thomas Aquinas of Belgium (from the Union of the Province of Saint Rose of Flanders and the Vicariate General of South Belgium) was born in 1944 and has lived in Switzerland for many years. He has held many positions and responsibilities in the Order: assistant to the Master of the Order (fr. Timothy Radcliffe) for Intellectual Life in Rome, then lecturer at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Fribourg, where he became Vice-Rector in 2003 and Rector from 2007 to 2015. Elected Prior Provincial in January 2015, brother Guido fulfilled his first mandate by leaving the brothers with the memory of a benevolent and attentive superior for each brother and each community. A peaceful and calm man, he was able to accompany the life of the Province in all its aspects. This is what led the chapter brothers to renew their trust in him for a new four-year mandate in this position. To accompany him in his mission of government, the Chapter brothers also elected as Definitors (Provincial Council) the brothers. Didier Boillat,Peter Spichtig, Philippe Jeannin and Michel Fontaine.