On Monday the 9th of September 2013 the Master of the Order, Brother Bruno Cadoré, had a private audience with Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace. This was the first direct contact between Brother Bruno and Pope Francis who was elected as Bishop of Rome on the 13th of March 2013.
Brother Bruno was warmly welcome by the Holy Father with all the normal protocol of a papal audience. Earlier in the summer the Master had written to the Pope to tell him about the general chapter of Trogir and Pope Francis had replied, through the Secretary of State, offering his best wishes for the chapter. This meeting was a chance for Brother Bruno to thank the Pope for his good wishes and to thank him also for the apostolic blessing which he had imparted to the Chapter and to the whole Dominican Family. It was an opportunity for the Master to speak with the Pope about the discussions and decisions of the Trogir Chapter, and to present him with a copy of its Acts.
The Master spoke about the Order’s desire to place its charism at the service of the Church particularly in the work of evangelisation. He shared with the Holy Father his hopes for the formation of the brothers and for their availability for the mission of the Church. They shared thoughts about the place of religious in the local churches and of their freedom to move from established commitments to meet new needs. Other themes discussed were the Order’s commitment to the study of theology and the link between centres of study and research with the apostolic and pastoral mission of the Order.
Brother Bruno also spoke with him about the Jubilee celebrations of the Order centred on the year 2016 and Pope Francis assured the Master of his willingness to participate in some of the Jubilee celebrations taking place in that year.
The Pope and the Master took leave of each other looking forward to their next meeting which will be on Ash Wednesday 2014 at Santa Sabina.
Brother Vivian Boland, OP
All Catholics make their profession of faith when baptized and renew it every year on Easter. By profession, we all put our faith in God and it means a lot for the believers. Surely it means much more for the religious persons when they make their profession of religious vows; poverty, chastity, and obedience because by doing so with faith, they put their entire life in God’s hand, just to be with Him and to walk along the path He has shown. In today’s gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us that with faith, we can do far more than we could accomplish by our own strength, by our own power. Expectant faith is a free gift God gives us to overcome the obstacles and stoppages along the way of doing God’s will and it enables us to accept God’s grace and power for accomplishing whatever God wants us to do. Jesus encourages us to have this faith, even if as small as a mustard seed, it is something dynamic, active and very alive.
It is this faith that enables our five Dominican brothers to renew their religious profession in the province of our Lady of the Rosary. During the Mass of 27th Ordinary Sunday, these five brothers made their renewal of religious vows in the hand of the prior of St Dominic House in Macau, in place of the Master of the Order of Preachers. Being a part of missionary province, they additionally declared their intention to go to the missions of the Province wherever they may be assigned by the superiors. The brothers who made their renewal of religious vows are; Bro. Peter Phan Ngo Xuan Thoai O.P, Bro. Joseph Nguyen Ngoc Huy O.P, Bro. Antonio Lee O.P, Bro. Mario U Shwe O.P, and Bro. Matthew Shing Mang Htun O.P.
After the ceremony, I curiously asked each of them how they felt or how they were inspired to do their renewal of religious profession, to continue the dedicated life as a religious. Here are their answers:
“I’m happy because I believe that God, the Church and the Province are also pleased with my response.â€
“Strengthened by renewing my commitment to God and community, I believe that with God’s help and the support from the community, I can pursue my calling with hope and joy as a religious.â€
“I’m happy to make my renewal profession. I believe God’s calling to be a Dominican. I would like to follow Him forever as a Dominican brother and our Mother Mary will guide me to her Sonâ€.
“To follow Christ, especially as a religious, it’s the best adventure I have ever. I am very happy and thank God for His graces and I hope I’ll be trying to follow what I have professedâ€.
“I eventually feel much better than before, especially when I renew my religious vows. I feel it brings me closer to God and hopefully I will be a good follower of Christ in futureâ€.
After hearing their answers, I feel I am deeply inspired to renew my religious vows for life. I do believe that in religious profession, we are bound and united in a community that lives in the evangelical counsels and in the community we, brothers help one another with the strength and support to follow Christ as our Father Dominic followed.
Bro. Paul Aung Myint Win O.P
St. Dominic’s Priory celebrated simply and joyfully the arrival of a new member: Fr. Edmond Eh Kim Chew.
Fr. Edmond was previously assigned to the House of St. Joseph in Kowloon, Hong Kong. A recently ordained Dominican priest, Fr. Edmond is at present the new Moderator of St. Dominic Center of Studies, a teacher of philosophical subjects at the Faculty of Christian Studies of the University of Saint Joseph and a candidate for the doctorate in philosophy at the University of Macau.
The assignment of Fr. Edmund to our community by Fr. Javier Gonzalez, OP, our Prior Provincial, was read right after supper on September 16, 2013. At present our community is composed of thirty (30) members: twenty two (22) student brothers and eight priests.
Brother Edmond, a cordial and fraternal welcome!
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(Communications approved by the Diffinitors but not yet approved by the Master of the Order. The numbers make reference to the Acts of the Provincial Chapter 2013)
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10.   Fr. Javier González Izquierdo was elected as Prior Provincial by the Chapter members on August 26, 2013 and confirmed by the Master of the Order on the following day August 27 (Prot. n. 25/13/430 CP). He accepted the office on August 28, taking office that very day during the conventual celebration of the Eucharist, making the prescribed profession of faith and the oath of fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church. From that moment onwards, he continued presiding over the General Assemblies and the Diffinitors´.
11.   The Chapter members elected as Diffinitors of this Chapter the following:
Fr. Mariano González MartÃn (Japan)
Fr. Tomás Miguel Blázquez (Taiwán)
Fr. Raymond Mi (Philipines)
Fr. Pedro Juan Alonso Merino (Spain)
Fr. Ãngel Gabriel Villasmil Bermúdez (Venezuela)
Fr. Emiliano Pérez Peña (houses under the Provincial)
Fr. Hyacinth He
Fr. Mario Jabares Cubillas
12.   The Chapter members elected Provincial Councillors the following:
Fr. Bonifacio GarcÃa SolÃs
Fr. José Luis de Miguel Fernández
Fr. Alejandro Salcedo GarcÃa
Fr. Christopher Joannes Chor
And as substitute Councillors of the Province the following:
Fr. José Ãngel López Legido
Fr. Timoteo Merino MartÃn
13.   The Chapter members elected Fr. Kleyver José GarcÃa Botero as socius of the Prior Provincial for the elective General Chapter; as diffinitor for the first General Chapter to Fr. Rafael Laya Hidalgo and to Fr. Pedro Juan Alonso Merino as his socius; as diffinitor for the second General Chapter to Fr. Ramón RodrÃguez and to Fr. José Antonio Sanabria Santervás as his socius.
 14.   The sessions of the Diffinitors took place from 4 to 11 of Septermber 2013.
 15.   The Prior Provincial, with the consent of the Diffinitors, chose Fr. Hyacinth He as his socius.
 16.   The Prior Provincial, with the consent of the Diffinitors, chose Fr. Fernando Muñoz MartÃn as Provincial Secretary.
 17.   The Diffinitors named Fr. Bonifacio GarcÃa SolÃs as Bursar of the Province and to Fr. José Salas Tomé and Fr. José Ãngel López Legido as his assistants.
 18.   The Diffinitors named Fr. Francisco de las Heras Miguel as provincial Secretary of Missions.
 19.   The Diffinitors proposed Fr. John Kim Sang Tae to the Master of the Order for his appointment as Regent of Studies.
 20.   The Diffinitors named Fr. Timoteo Merino MartÃn as Master of Novices in Hong Kong.
 21.   The Diffinitors named Fr. Jarvis Sy Hao as Master of Students in St. Dominic´s Priory in Macau, and Fr. José Gregorio Lobo Izquierdo as Master of Students in the Priory of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, in Caracas, Venezuela.
 22.   The Diffinitors named as Director of the Pre-Novitiate: Fr. Peadar Beinidict Mac Cionaoith in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong; Fr. Juan Bautista Ko Sung Kyun in Seoul, Korea; Fr. Antonio González Izquierdo in Singapur; Fr. John Maung Sui in Yangon, Myanmar; Fr. Santiago Sáiz González in Dili, Timor Leste; and Fr. José Gregorio Lobo Izquierdo in Caracas, Venezuela.
 23.   The Diffinitors named Fr. Pedro Luis González González as incharge of the Student Brothers taking institutional studies in Rome..
 24.   The Diffinitors named Fr Ramón RodrÃguez Alonso as representative of the Vicariate in Spain for the Council of Formation of the JIP.
 25.   Likewise, the Diffinitors made the following appointments:
Fr. Fausto Gómez Berlana, Provincial Promoter of Permanent Formation.
Fr. Emiliano Pérez Peña, Provincial Promoter of Justice and Peace.
Fr. Fernando Muñoz, Chonicler and Secretary of Information and Statistics.
Fr. Emiliano Pérez Peña, editor of the Provincial Bulletin.
Fr. Teodoro González GarcÃa and Fr. Miguel Ãngel Medina Escudero, Provincial Promoters for the causes of Beatification and Canonization.
Fr. Vicente Sánchez RodrÃguez, Provincial Promoter of the Dominican Family.
Fr. Mariano González MartÃn, Provincial Promoter of Vocations.
Fr. Tomás Polvorosa López, Provincial Archivist.
Fr. Peter Yu Jong Pil, Provincial Coordinator for the Internet.
Fr. Edmond Eh Kim Chew, Moderator of the Provincial Center of Institutional Studies, in Macau.
