The Dominican Laity of the Province of England, Scotland, and Wales held their 2025 Assembly on Saturday, 20 September, at the Frassati Centre in Leicester. The gathering brought together Lay Dominicans from across the Province, along with enquirers interested in Dominican life.
The theme of the day was Mission, with a particular focus on the Relatio of the Master of the Order, published ahead of the recently concluded General Chapter of Krakow, which invited the Dominican Family to reflect on the “4 publics” of the Order’s preaching.
The guest speaker was Br. Cristóbal Torres Iglesias, OP, General Promoter for the Laity. The day’s events were coordinated by Catherine Wallis-Hughes, Events Officer, and Margaret Doyle, Provincial President.
Br. Cristóbal offered a reflection on how Lay Dominican preaching might engage the four publics described in the Master’s Relatio:
- those within the Church — the faithful in the pews, whose diverse cultural, political, and ecclesial perspectives should always inform the Order’s preaching;
- those on the margins — people who may feel excluded or without a place in the Church, to whom the Order’s mission calls for a deep spirituality of listening;
- the mission ad gentes — to those who do not know Christ; and
- young people in all these “publics” — many of whom live in a secular context where faith may not always be met with hostility but rather with indifference, though they continue to seek transcendence and spiritual meaning.
Br. Cristóbal emphasised a spirituality that prioritises attentive listening before offering answers, the building of authentic relationships, and falling in love with Christ as the foundation that makes ongoing conversion possible.
The day concluded with the celebration of Mass, presided over by Br. Cristóbal, together with concelebrants Br. Nicholas Crowe, OP, Prior Provincial; Br. Thomas Mannion, OP, Provincial Promoter for the Laity; and Br. Matthew Jarvis, OP, Prior of St Dominic Priory in London.
