The provincial chapter of the province of San Ezequiel Moreno has appointed Dionisio Selma as prior provincial. He is re-elected and will continue to lead the next four years
The Augustinian Recollects of the Philippines, Taiwan and Sierra Leone have chosen who will be their head for the next four years. The provincial chapter of the province of San Ezequiel Moreno has appointed Dionisio Selma as Prior Provincial for four more years. In this way, Selma will continue as a prior provincial, a responsibility she has held for the past three years.
The 146 Augustinian Recollect friars who were able to vote previously to decide the prior provincial decided the election. Dionisio Selma, Leander Barrot and Lauro Larlar went to the second round, although the first of them was very far from the rest getting 60 votes against 14 Barrot and 6 Larlar.
Finally, the 27 Augustinian Recollects present in the provincial chapter of St. Ezekiel Moreno have elected Dionisio Selma with a backing of 22 votes. As the previous prayer indicates, Selma must now guide her province “toward renewal, unity, and charity.”
In an interview with the communication team of the Order of Augustinian Recollects in the Philippines, Dionisio Selma was not surprised that he was re-elected because “the constitutions allow it”. As he has confessed, he has felt “very happy and grateful for the votes” when he knows that he will continue being the prior provincial of San Ezequiel Moreno.
The Prior provincial of San Ezequiel Moreno has affirmed that he asked for signals. “I prayed to have some signs to give me strength in the discernment, whether to continue or not, because I was already determined not to continue,” he says. The signal was the result of the vote and his election as Prior Provincial.
Dionisio Selma affirms that the Augustinian Recollects in the Philippines have many needs but “trusting in God” trusts to be able to carry out the project approved by the Provincial Chapter.