In the Catholic Church’s mendicant religious orders that began in the thirteenth century the mode of governance is a formal gathering called a Provincial Chapter. As required by the Augustinian Constitutions, a Provincial Chapter occurs every four years, and begins with the official installation of the person who has been elected to the office of Prior Provincial of the Australasian Province. The election of this friar takes place by universal suffrage via postal voting by the friars in the Australasian Province.

In this way voting has now been completed in preparation for the quadrennial Provincial Chapter that will take place in Sydney, Australia early in July 2018.

At that time the new Prior Provincial (leader) of the Augustinians in Australia and South Korea will be Fr Peter Jones. He has been an Augustinian friar since 1 February 1981. Since then he has been variously involved in the Catholic education apostolate, parish ministry, spirituality ministry, and in the formation of candidates in their first years of preparation for Augustinian community life.

He is currently responsible for the newly-professed Augustinian students and is First Counselor i.e., one of the elected advisors to the present Prior Provincial. As well he is the Provincial Secretary.  Fr Peter has also been involved in Order activities on the international scene, most recently the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Augustinian Novitiate (APAN) at Cebu in the Philippines in his role as Chair of the APAN Committee.

We congratulate him as he prepares to assume his role in challenging times for both the Augustinian Order and the Church. He will officially commence Prior Provincial at the Provincial Chapter on 2 July 2018.                                                                                                  En291