Pope Leo XIV offers Dominican General Curia encouragement and prayer
VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV received the Master of the Order of Preachers, Gerard Francisco P. Timoner III, together with members of the General Curia of the Order, in an audience on December 18, 2025, in the private library of the Apostolic Palace. The meeting offered an occasion for encouragement, exchange, and prayer as the Church prepared to celebrate Christmas.
During the audience, Pope Leo XIV expressed his paternal closeness to the Dominican Order and encouraged the Order to persevere in the mission of preaching the Word of God, with particular attention to reaching out to young people. The Holy Father underscored the enduring importance of Dominican preaching in the life of the Church and urged the friars to continue offering clear, joyful, and credible witness to the Gospel.
The Pope also spoke warmly of his own memories of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum), recalling with affection the intellectual and spiritual formation associated with the Dominican tradition of study. His generous remarks affirmed the distinctive contribution of the Order of Preachers to theological scholarship and pastoral service.
At the heart of the audience was a brief address by the Master of the Order, who spoke on behalf of the entire Dominican Family. Fr. Timoner thanked the Holy Father for receiving the friars “as sons and as brothers,” recalling the mendicant identity shared by the Order and its fidelity to the Rule of St. Augustine, with its call to be “of one heart and one soul on the journey toward God.” Speaking on behalf of the friars, contemplative nuns, apostolic sisters, Dominican laity, the Priestly Fraternities of Saint Dominic, and the Dominican Youth Movement, the Master of the Order assured Pope Leo XIV of the Dominican Family’s constant prayers.
Also on behalf of the Dominican Family, the Master of the Order presented several symbolic gifts to the Holy Father. Among them was the fourth edition of the Jerusalem Bible—specifically the Gospels and Psalms—published by Éditions du Cerf in collaboration with the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem. In presenting this volume, Fr. Timoner recalled the historic role of earlier popes, including Leo XIII and Pius XII, in supporting modern Catholic biblical scholarship, and reaffirmed the Order’s commitment to the preaching of the Gospel.
The Master also presented a hand-painted ceramic icon of St. Dominic, created by Dominican nuns of the Monastery of Lerma in Spain, recalling the close relationship between the Order’s founder and the papacy at its origins. A second ceramic icon depicted St. Catherine of Siena, likewise painted by the nuns of Lerma, evoking her tireless work for the unity and renewal of the Church and her courageous fidelity to the Successor of Peter. Through these gifts, the Order renewed its commitment to the evangelical courage embodied by its saints, including Thomas Aquinas, Martin de Porres, Rosa de Lima, and Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Concluding the audience, Pope Leo XIV imparted his apostolic blessing to the Master of the Order, the members of the General Curia, and the entire Dominican Family. He also conveyed his warm Christmas wishes, inviting the friars to celebrate the Nativity of the Lord with renewed zeal for their mission of preaching Christ to the world.
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