On June 13 – 18, the African Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities (ACLDF) held the 3rd Africa Congress, hosted at Mariannhill Retreat Center in Durban, South Africa. The Africa Congress, held every three years, is a gathering of representatives of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic from all provinces, vice-provinces and vicariates across the region of Africa. In addition to the…
On June 8, Pentecost Sunday, Br. Cristóbal Torres Iglesias, OP, General Promoter of the Dominican Laity, met with members of the Lay Fraternities of Holy Name Province in the United States at St. Dominic Parish, the Province’s first foundation, established in 1854 in Benicia, California. The gathering began with the praying of Lauds, followed by the celebration of the Eucharist…
“May Lay Fraternities and IDYM communities, wherever they coexist around the world, work together in a spirit of love and goodwill.” This is the appeal voiced by Carlos Fernando Beltrán, International Coordinator of the Dominican Youth Movement (IDYM), and Sébastien Milazzo, OP, Coordinator of the International Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities (ICLDF), in a joint letter to the laity of…
The young Dominican tertiary will be canonized during the Jubilee, one hundred years after his return to the house of the Father in the Holy Year of 1925. “With gratitude to God, Giver of all good things, the Dominican Family rejoices in the announcement by Pope Francis that our brother Pier Giorgio Frassati will be canonized,” wrote the Master of the…
On Saturday, April 12, 2025, the Dominican Province of St. Thomas Aquinas of Belgium and the Netherlands hosted “Art and Preaching: Art as a Form of Preaching”, a province-wide gathering of the Dominican Laity held at the historic St. Paul’s Church in Antwerp. The keynote speaker, Fr. Cristóbal Torres, OP, Promoter for the Dominican Laity, gave a presentation on the history…
From April 4-7, 2025, the current officers of the International Commission of Lay Dominican Fraternities (ICLDF) met in Rome, at Santa Sabina, for their first in-person gathering. Among those present were: Dr. Sébastian Milazzo, OP, International Coordinator of the Dominican Laity and President of the European Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities (ECLDF), from France; Mrs. Margareth Velásquez, OP, President of…
The International Commission of the Dominican Youth Movement (IDYM) gathered for its annual meeting in Rome, held at Santa Sabina on February 21-23. Among those present were: Carlos Beltrán, International Coordinator of IDYM; Cristina Expósito, IDYM’s Promotor of Formation; Humberto Rico, Promotor of Communications; and fr. Cristóbal Torres, OP, General Promoter of the Dominican Laity, who serves and accompanies IDYM…
On Saturday, 14 December 2024, the Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati Fraternity of the Province of Poland gathered at Fort VII to pray for peace in union with the entire Dominican Order. December is a month of Dominican prayer for peace. In this year we remember first and foremost Haiti, a republic whose inhabitants have been experiencing multiple forms of violence for…
“Enough with silence! Shout with a hundred thousand tongues, for it is because of silence that the world is rotten!” Recalling these words of Saint Catherine of Siena, uttered in her time, I observe that silencing the voices of those suffering injustice has become normalized today. This is why we, as Dominicans, are called to denounce the realities our brothers…
The Council of the Lay Dominican Fraternities of Latin America and the Caribbean (COFALC) held its Intermediate Assembly in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 28 to 31 August 2024. The main topics discussed by the participants included: greater coordination in mission and formation among the fraternities of the region, expansion and updating of the provincial directories of the fraternities,…
