Vicar of the Dominican Order Dies Suddenly

July 31, 2007 BOGOTA, COLOMBIA-- It is with great sadness that we report the sudden and untimely death of our brother Dominique Renouard, OP, the Vicar of the Master of the Order. He died of a sudden heart attack while attending the General Chapter in Bogotá, while he was sleeping.

On Tuesday, July 31st at 6:30 pm (Colombia time), the friars will celebrate a Eucharist in the Conventual Church of Saint Dominic in Bogotá with his body present. In a commuinique from Santa Sabina, the friars said, " We thank God for having given us in the person of Brother Dominique a remarkable brother, an exceptional friend and a model Dominican who served the Order until the last moment of his life. We commend to the Lord and to the Virgin of the Rosary the new life of our brother Dominique.


Here is the full text of the message that appeared on IDI:

It is with sadness that we have to share the news that during the night of Sunday, 29th July, Bro. Dominique Renouard, 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!”