“The whole of Christ’s life is a mystery that is meant to reveal to us the very identity of God as well as what it means to be truly human.”
Fr TJ White OP, The Light of Christ
Dear brothers and sisters in the Dominican Order,
The European Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities would like to wish you a very blessed Christmas! May we ponder the mystery of the Incarnation and come to “the knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph. 4, 13).
ECLDF
From 5th to 9th December, the members of the European Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities (ECLDF) gathered in person at the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha, home to the Provincial Curia of the friars of the Province of Hispania. The agenda for this meeting covered topics such as communication, formation, the canonisation of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, the Church’s Jubilee in 2025, and the upcoming European Assembly of Lay Dominican Fraternities. Proposals from various Provinces across the European region were also discussed. During this intensive work, two significant moments brought spiritual and human renewal to the participants: common Eucharistic celebration and prayer.
Belgium
LOGOS is the name given to the Dominican pastoral work for students and young workers in Liège, Belgium. It is coordinated jointly by the Friars’ Convent and the Lay Fraternity. Every Wednesday evening, 2 or 3 friars and 2 or 3 lay people gather around a dozen young people aged between 18 and 30. The program includes an Eucharistic celebration, adoration, a simple meal and an evening themed on a spiritual or faith theme. On 4 December last, fr Gérard Timoner, Master of the Order, took advantage of his canonical visit to the Province of Belgium to participate in the evening.
Bulgaria
Lay Dominicans from Bulgaria, part of the Polish Province, hosted fr Thomas Joseph White OP, the Rector of the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas – the Angelicum. During his stay, which was a part of the initiatives of the Sofia LDF for the St Thomas Jubilee, fr Thomas gave a talk on the significance of Thomism in the contemporary world in the parish, an academic lecture on the Incarnation at Sofia University and an interview for the Ave Maria Catholic online radio. Fr Thomas’ visit was a massive promotion of the Dominican and Thomistic spirituality in the country, which has neither Dominican friars nor nuns or sisters.
Estonia
The foundation of the first Dominican fraternity in Estonia. On 8 August 2024, the feast of Our Father Saint Dominic, the Provincial of France, fr Nicolas Tixier, OP, and the Lay Provincial President, Jean René Berthélémy, received in Tallinn the professions of five Estonian Lay Dominicans who now form a new Lay Dominican fraternity under the patronage of Fra Angelico. The Dominicans arrived in Estonia in 1229 and were expelled during the Reformation; Polish Dominicans returned to Tallinn in the 19th century and left again during the Soviet era. The mission of the Order in Estonia and the other two Baltic States, Latvia and Lithuania, is entrusted to the care of the Province of France. In the 1970s, the Catholic Church was reduced to 7 people; today, there are almost 6,000 faithful.
France and Toulouse
From 2 to 5 October, the Dominican Family from the Province of France and the Province of Toulouse had a joint Rosary pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Our Lady in Lourdes. The pilgrimage was part of a bigger one with 16000 people, and the Lay presidents of both provinces organized several events to promote the fraternities; there was also an exposition of St Thomas Aquinas’ relics because of the Jubilee and the President of the ECLDF, Sebastien Milazzo gave a talk entitled ‘The greatest of miracles: when God crosses history, Christ inhabits our stories. History and human existence as natural sites of divine Revelation in Saint Thomas Aquinas’. The event was a huge promotion of the Dominican charism.
Spain
On the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Nicean Creed in 2025, the Province of Hispania has started a commemorating course of lectures on the Creed itself. The sessions are taking place every second Tuesday from November 2024 and will succeed to May 2025. They are held by both friars and lay members of the whole Dominican Family. Each lecture is dedicated to a verse (statement) of the Creed. The event is a part of the so-called Theology Classroom, organized by the friars of the Santo Tomas de Aquino (Olivar) convent in Madrid. The classes are a great example of priests and lay working together, which the Spanish province is well known for.
Poland
Since 2024, Lay Dominicans in Poland have started an initiative to organize annual night vigils for the sanctity of Dominican friars of the province. The first vigil took place in Jasna Góra, Our Lady’s most famous Polish sanctuary, during the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The vigil consisted of Mas before midnight, recitation of the Rosary and meditations. As mentioned, the vigil will take place annually in Marian sanctuaries on the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus feast. Poland is known for its piety; these vigils are a great example of lay caring for their friars.