Gerard Francisco Parco Timoner III (born January 26 1968) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

who serves as the 88th

Master of the Order of Preachers The Master of the Order of Preachers is the Superior General of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominicans. The Master of the Order of Preachers is ''ex officio'' Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aqui ...

, better known as the Dominicans, since 13 July 2019, the first Asian to hold the position. He is also a Professor of Theology at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Mig ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

and since 2014 a member of the

International Theological Commission The International Theological Commission (ITC) is a body of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church; it advises the magisterium of the church, particularly the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), a dicastery of the Roman Curia. Its me ...

Early life and education

Gerard Francisco P. Timoner III was born on 26 January 1968 in

Daet, Camarines Norte Daet (), officially the Municipality of Daet ( bcl, Banwaan kan Daet; tl, Bayan ng Daet), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 111,700 peo ...

, Philippines to +Francisco Timoner Jr. and +Lilia Parco. He attended the

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: * Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sai ...

-administered

La Consolacion College – Daet The La Consolacion College Daet is a private Catholic school run by the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation (ASOLC) in Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines. It was founded in 1948 and named Daet Parochial School by Monsignor Antonino O. ...

, graduating first honors from grade school in 1981, and as high school valedictorian in 1985. He obtained his licenciate in philosophy at the Philippine Dominican Center for International Studies in 1991 and a licenciate in theology at the

in 1994. He joined the Dominicans in 1985 and professed his vows in 1989. His brother, Ronald Anthony, is also a priest who is currently the Vicar General of the Diocese of Daet.

Vocation

Timoner was ordained a priest in 1995. He earned additional degrees in sacred theology and intercultural theology at the

Catholic University of Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th centu ...

in 2004. On 23 September 2014,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

named him a member of the

. He is the fourth Filipino to have that distinction. In December 2018, he was one of the leaders of a delegation of priests that searched the Dominican Mausoleum in Rome's

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to the ...

cemetery for the remains of the first native-born Filipino ever consecrated a bishop,

Jorge Barlin Jorge Barlin (April 23, 1850 – September 4, 1909) also known as Jorge Barlin Imperial, Jorge Alfonso Imperial Barlin and Jorge Barlin e Imperial following Spanish naming customs, was the first Filipino consecrated a bishop in the Roman Catholic ...

(born 1850–1909), who served as the

Bishop of Nueva Caceres A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

until his death in the city in 1909. He was Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of the Philippines and then Socius of the Master for Asia-Pacific before being elected Master of the Order on 13 July 2019. As the head of the Dominicans, he is also the '' ex officio''

Grand Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law co ...

of the

Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the Christian liturgy, liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal (liturgy), ordinal for the ordination and consecration of dea ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Timoner, Gerard III 1968 births Living people People from Camarines Norte People from Quezon City Radboud University Nijmegen alumni University of Santo Tomas alumni Members of the Dominican Order University of Santo Tomas faculty 21st-century Filipino Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Filipino Roman Catholic priests Masters of the Order of Preachers