On February 3, 2024, the friars of the Province of Switzerland and delegates from the Province of France gathered in Fribourg around the Master of the Order, fr Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP, to proceed with the suppression of the Province of Switzerland and the erection of the Vicariate of Switzerland of the Province of France.
Following the reading of the decree abolishing the Province of Switzerland and erecting the vicariate, the Provincial of France, Brother Nicolas Tixier, OP, instituted Brother Didier Boillat, OP, as the first Vicar Provincial of the Vicariate of Switzerland. In his bilingual address, Brother Nicolas warmly thanked Brother Benoît-Dominique de la Soujeolle, OP, who had accompanied the Swiss Province in preparing this institutional change, made necessary by the needs of the Order’s mission in Switzerland.
The Master of the Order gave thanks for the hundreds of brothers, sisters and lay members of the Order who for centuries have served the Gospel message in Switzerland by their word and their presence. He stressed that this change in status does not mean the end of the Order’s mission in Switzerland. On the contrary, the international experience of the Province of France will breathe new life into Dominican preaching in the confederation.
By Yves Bériault
By Laurent Fortin