fr. Gerard TIMONER III
President Master of the Order of Preachers
Fr. Gerard Francisco Parco Timoner III, who hails from the Province of Camarines Norte, in the Philippines, was appointed as the new Master of the Order in 2019. Before assuming this role, he was the immediate past Socius of the Master for Asia-Pacific and the Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of the Philippines. His formal assignment in the Province was in the Priory of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the University of Santo Tomas (UST), where he served as the Vice-Rector for Religious Affairs and Rector of the Central (Interdiocesan) Seminary. In 2014, fr. Gerard was named a member of the International Theological Commission by Pope Francis. As the new Master of the Order, fr. Gerard is also the current Grand Chancellor of UST.
sr. Margaret MAYCE
Vice President International Coordinator - Dominican Sisters International
Sr. Margaret Mayce is a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Congregation of the Holy Cross, Amityville, New York. Prior to her election as International Coordinator of Dominican Sisters International Confederation (DSIC), she served as the Representative of the NGO Dominican Leadership Conference at the UN in New York. In this capacity, sr. Margaret served as Chair of the NGO Committee for Social Development from 2012 to 2016, and Chair of the NGO Mining Working Group from 2017 to 2019. While at the UN, she was engaged in a wide range of issues, including poverty eradication; sustainable development and climate change; the plight of women and girls worldwide and financing for sustainable development. She brings the rich Dominican tradition of advocating for human rights that transcends all she does. From 2001 to 2007, she served on her Congregation’s Leadership Team as Councillor for Ministry and was elected to the membership on the National Board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). She has also served as the Director of the Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY, and lived and worked in the Dominican Republic for three years. She holds a Bachelor’s in Sociology; a Master’s in International Political Economic Development; a certificate in Pastoral Spanish and a certificate in Preaching.
fr. Benjamin EARL
Treasurer Procurator General of the Order of Preachers
Fr. Benjamin Earl is the Procurator General of the Dominican Order, the member of the General Council responsible for the Order’s business with the Vatican and matters of Canon Law for the Order internationally. Fr. Benjamin, a member of the Province of England, was born and grew up in Canterbury (UK). He entered the Order after degrees in Mathematics and in Computer Science at the University of Oxford. More recently, fr. Benjamin was Parish Priest and University Chaplain at Durham and superior of the Dominican community there. He has served as a judge of the Diocesan Tribunal of Hexham and Newcastle, a trustee of various charities in the UK. He was also a trustee of the Hoper Dixon Trust, a charity seeking to relieve poverty among the people, who are often victims of social injustice or refugees. He also represented the Charifaith Common Investment Fund on the UK Church Investors’ Group (CIG), that is seeking to deter investments in companies with dubious practices (poor human rights record, disregard for indigenous communities, involvement in human trafficking, etc.). Fr. Benjamin is currently a member of the Juridical Commission of the Union of Superiors General.
fr. Florentino BOLO Jr
Board Member Socius for the Apostolic Life of the Order of Preachers
Fr. Florentino originates from the Philippines and was professed in the Order of Preachers in 1998. He was soon appointed as the Assistant Master of Novices and Vice Rector of the UST Central Seminary. He also assumed the offices of Secretary General of UST as well as Provincial Promoter of the Priestly Fraternities of St. Dominic. His apostolic engagement with the fraternities continued even as he proceeded to undertake further studies in Rome, where he was tasked by fr. Bruno Cadoré, OP, to work as International Coordinator of the Priestly Fraternities of the Order in 2013. In the final year of his Doctorate in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), he served as Master of Students for the Roman Province of St. Catherine of Siena. Upon returning to the Philippines in 2016, he was appointed in the Order as the General Promoter of the Priestly Fraternities of St. Dominic.
fr. Michel FONTAINE
Board MemberHonorary Professor at HES-SO and Priest of St Paul's Parish in Geneva
Fr. Michel Fontaine entered religious life at the age of 49. He has been trained in the fields of nursing, social sciences, theological ethics and bioethics. Fr. Michel is an honorary professor at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (Hautes Écoles Spécialisées de Suisse Occidentale (HES-SO). He was also an invited professor of Epistemology of Sciences at the Institute of Higher Education and Research in Healthcare of the University of Lausanne. In addition to currently being engaged in the parish’s ministry, fr. Michel is a member of the Geneva Health Care Office (Bureau de la Pastorale de la Santé) and is a chaplain in medico-social facilities for the elderly. Finally, he is a member of the Bioethics Commission of the Conference of Churches in Switzerland. Fr. Michel resides at the Convent of Saint Dominic in Geneva.
fr. Pablo SICOULY
Board Member Socius for the Intellectual Life of the Order of Preachers
Fr. Pablo is the Socius of the Master of the Order for the Intellectual Life since 2018. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he entered the Order of Preachers in 1979 after completing his law studies. He is a Doctor of Theology from the Sankt Georgen Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology (Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen) in Frankfurt-Main, Germany and a Professor of Philosophy from the Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North (Universidad del Norte Santo Tomás de Aquino – UNSTA) in Argentina. He was Regent of Studies of his Province and Prior Provincial from 2007 to 2015. During this period, he served as the President of the Governing Board and Grand Chancellor of UNSTA. He also worked as a professor at the Dominican Centre of Studies and at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Argentina (Universidad Católica Argentina) in Buenos Aires. From 2015 to 2018 he served as the Promoter of Studies for the Interprovincial Conference of Dominicans in Latin America and the Caribbean (Conferencia Interprovincial de Dominicos en América Latina y el Caribe – CIDALC). At the moment, he is a visiting professor at the Faculty of Theology of San Esteban (Facultad de Teología San Esteban) in Salamanca, collaborating in a joint programme with CIDALC.
Claire PONCET PACCHIANI
Board Member
Claire is a Swiss national and married with 5 children. She is a member of the Dominican parish in Geneva and headed the parish’s engagement in the Dominican Month of Peace for 2019 with a focus on India.
She graduated with a Master of Arts degree in the University of Geneva, (Literature and Development Studies) and later with a Theology BA in the University of Strasbourg. With her husband Mario who worked for UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development),they lived and worked in Latin America, Italy, and the United States. She is fluent in French, English, and Spanish. Back in Switzerland, she worked as a teacher in the public school and adult education. She has translated several documents of Dominicans for Justice and Peace into French, including Dominicans and Human Rights: Past, Present and Future (ATF, 2017)
