NEWS July 31st, 2007

It is with sadness that we have to share the news that during the night of Sunday, 29th July, Bro. Dominique Renouard,O.P. Vicar to the Master of the Order and Socius for the Provinces of North-western Europe and Canada died of a massive heart attack.

Monday 30, when Bro Dominique did not participate at Lauds and
neither went for breakfast, Bro Carlos, the Master of the Order, went
to see if Dominique needed help, and he found him dead in bed. His
room is near a small chapel. The Lord called him during the night and
invited him to His Easter feast. He is now with Him celebrating the
eternal feast. Bro Carlos, the Master, carries with great suffering
and hope in God the loss of such a close, loyal, transparent and
efficient collaborator. This same feeling is shared by all our
brothers. The members of the Chapter are shocked, and we have
suffered and cried because of this unexpected death.

Our brother Dominique was born in France on the first of December
1947. He professed in the Order in the Province of Lyon on October
24, 1976 and was ordained priest on September 12, 1981. Dominique had
a doctorate in Physics and was working in the Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique in Grenoble when Bro Timothy Radcliffe called
him to join the government of the Order in 1998. Bro Carlos then
appointed him his Vicar.

All of us who lived with him at Santa Sabina, Rome, enjoyed his
friendship, generosity and solicitude for the Order. In his letter
Bro Carlos told me "It was a great shock, Dominique was well, happy
and worked hard to prepare this Chapter. He gave his life to the
Order". Bro Timothy, on the other hand said "I spoke at length with
him three days ago. He told me that he had never felt so happy in the
Order, and that, notwithstanding the challenges, he loved the Order
even more".

As believers we celebrated his life and his death welcomed in the
life and death of the Lord. Let us keep our Brother in our prayers,
and also the Master of the Order and the members of the Chapter. Let
his discrete and vital presence full of Dominican courage accompany
us during this General Chapter of Bogotá! We are sure that his help
will have the "newness" of the brother who is now risen in the Lord.

"We suffer from this blow, and we repeat the prayer

`Fulfill, oh Father Dominic, what you promised…'

Beyond surprise and suffering, there is hope!"

Fr. Roger Hartline, OP