Filipino chosen as first
Asian head of the Dominicans
 |
| Father Gerard Francisco Timoner III the new head of the Domonican Order |
Filipino priest, Father Gerard Francisco Timoner III was
elected Master of the Order of Preachers, or the Dominican Order, on Saturday,
during the ongoing General Chapter of the order in Biên Hoà, Vietnam.
By Robin Gomes
For the first time in the history of the worldwide Dominican
Order, an Asian has been elected as head.
Father Gerard Francisco Timoner III, who hails from the
Philippines, was elected Master of the Order of Preachers, also known as the
Dominican Order, during its ongoing General Chapter in Biên Hoà, Vietnam.
This is also the first General Chapter of the Dominicans in
a non-Christian country.
The 51-year old Filipino priest is the 87th successor
of St. Dominic of Guzman, the Spanish priest who founded the order in
1215. He will hold the post for nine years.
Fr. Timoner was previously socius, or assistant,
for Asia and the Pacific of the outgoing Dominican Master and head of the
Filipino Dominicans, Fr. Bruno Cadorè of France.
'Dominicans serve Church as communion of brothers'
"The essence of the Church is communion, concretized in
an extraordinary way when brothers celebrate the Eucharist,” the new head of
the Dominicans said on Saturday after his election.
"We Dominicans must serve the Church with what we are:
a communion of brothers. We must help this Church to become a strong communion.
We must not look continually at ourselves, but at the Church, which we must
help to serve and build.”
He said he felt greatly encouraged in fulfilling his mission
when fellow Dominicans promised him their prayers as they came and
congratulated him.
According to the Vicar of the new Master, Fr. Miguel Ángel
del Río, Fr. Timoner can bring many good things to the Dominicans, including a
non-European look. He noted that most of the heads of the order were
Europeans, and now a Filipino will usher in a new way of looking at
things.
Short biography
Fr. Timoner was born on 26 January 1968 in Daet, in the
Camarines Norte province.
After obtaining his philosophy degree from the Philippine
Dominican Center of Institutional Studies and his theology from the University
of Santo Tomas (UST), he was ordained a priest in 1995.
In 2004, he finished his licentiate in sacred theology at
the Catholic University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
The priest also served as vice rector for religious affairs
and rector of the UST Central Seminary from 2007 to 2012.
In 2014, Pope Francis appointed Fr. Timoner as member of the
International Theological Commission, a 30-member Vatican body tasked with
examining questions on doctrinal matters.
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