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Spain: Inauguration Of The Exhibition "At The Table With Saint Dominic

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On Saturday, May 22, the house of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Ocaña (Toledo), the official 22 the inauguration of the itinerant exhibition "At the table with Santo Domingo" that the Vicariate of Spain of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary has organized on the occasion of the VIII centenary of the death of Saint Dominic. This exhibit will be moved to the different houses of the Vicariate and some towns linked to the history of the Dominicans in Spain.

In attendance were, among others, Br. Bonifacio García Solís, Prior Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of Rosario and Bro. César Valero Bajo, O.P Vicar Provincial accompanied by brothers from Ocaña and Madrid. Bro. Bonifacio addressed words of thanks of gratitude to the organizers and those attending the opening of the commemorative exhibition that numbered nearly two hundred attendees, among whom were the Parish Priest in Ocaña, D. Manuel Mellado; the mayors of Ocaña, Huete, Carboneras, Villaescusa de Haro, Arguisuleas and Villanueva de los Infantes; the regional deputies Mr. Francisco Núñez Núñez and Mr. Benjamín Prieto, as well as the different heads of the Educational Community and the representatives of different organizations and confraternities of the town.

Br. Bonifacio García Solís, OP, highlighted the historical work of the Province and the remarkable service rendered to the Church and society as well as that the Province is carrying out today in the New Eastern missions and the different presences from Japan to Venezuela and encourage Brothers and faithful to celebrate the centenary of Dies Nataliswith a spirit of rethinking the particular charism of the Province paying attention to the signs of the times and excellence and enduring legacy of Our Founder St. Dominic.

The act continued with Bro. Pedro Juan Alonso’s presentation, who invited us to reflect on the spiritual itinerary of Our Father. Bro. Pedro Juan cantered into the motto of the Centennial at the table with St Dominic: “This is a celebration of welcoming everyone, of joy for the encounter, of the passion for the gospel". He underlined the need in our current world for "attractive, risky, creative and apostolic preaching that Dominicans ought to give to the Church "Emphasizing the purpose of the exhibition, which is none other than a meeting place where "we put ourselves at the service of society, which is a symbol of the strength of faith and which is also an important asset" for culture, for the economy, for the service for life and human rights”.

As a prelude to the visit to the exhibition, Bro. César Valero, Head of the commemorative acts of the centenary, presented the soprano Doña Adela Delgado, who magnificently interpreted the Ave María by Giulio Caccini, in the historical and incomparable setting of the Church so closely linked to the history of the Province.

Finally, all attendees were able to visit and enjoy the exhibition, located in the Refectory of the magnificent Renaissance priory. The curator of the exhibition, Remedios Gordo Hernández, explained the exhibition project that focuses on three areas. The first deals with the figure of Saint Dominic, his origins, his early vocation, his ways of praying, his devotion to Mary -Mother of God and of the Church-, the first constitutions, and Our Founder’s life dedicated to talking about God or with God. The second part centres on Communion and fraternity so important in Dominican spirituality. And the third is dedicated to the dream of Saint Dominic, a dream that materialized with the establishment of the Order,  composed of men and women who have preached the Gospel throughout these 800 years with heroic words, witnessing, and writings, through their commitment to preaching the Gospel across the world and in so different settings including the poorest and the promotion of human rights, together with the Brothers’ commitment a d other members of the Dominican Family to education, music, and arts, as well as a life devoted to study, prayer, community life and the celebration of the sacraments.

The exhibition is made up of a series of panels with evocative text and some reproductions, as well as works of art that accompany the exhibition flow, including the following: the painting “Saint Dominic in Soriano · by Juan Bautista Maino, on loan from the Dominicans of the Monastery of Santo Domingo el Real in Toledo and the sculptural group "The embrace of Saint Francis and Saint Dominic" by Salvador Carmona from the Royal Monastery of Santo Tomás de Ávila. The exhibit is completed by different works borrowed from the Oriental Museum of the same convent and the Porticum Salutis museum in (Santo Domingo de Ocaña Convent).