The Prior General governs in conjunction with his Council, which consists of the Vicar General, the Director of Formation General and his Councillors.
Brother François-Xavier
Prior General
Frères de Saint-Jean,
3 rue de l’ancien séminaire,
Rimont, 71390 Fley – France
prieur.general@stjean.com
Brother Geoffroy-Marie
Vicar general
Prieuré de Troussure
3, rue du Château
60390 Troussures – France
geoffroy-marie@stjean.com
Brother Jean-Polycarpe
Director of Formation General
Frères de Saint-Jean,
3 rue de l’ancien séminaire,
Rimont, 71390 Fley
formation@stjean.com
Brother Honorat
Advisor to the Prior General and Bursar General
Prieuré Bienheureux Réginald
3 Place Saint-Laurent
45000 Orléans – France
ecogen@stjean.com
Brother Renaud-Marie
Advisor
Priory of Lithuania
Antakalnio g. 27
LT-10312, Vilnius – Lithuania
renaudmarie@stjean.com
Brother Jovien-Andrea
Advisor to the Prior General
Frères de Saint-Jean,
3 rue de l’ancien séminaire,
Rimont, 71390 Fley – France
fr.jovien.andrea@stjean.com
The Prior General and his Council, accompanied by Erwan de Gevigney, Secretary of the Congregation.
Brother François-Xavier is the current Prior General. The Prior General is the main superior of the Institute. He is elected by the general chapter for 6 years, after which his mandate may be renewed for 3 years. He is responsible for leading the Congregation in faithfulness to its charism and in communion with the Church. He is assisted by the Vicar General.
Brother François-Xavier was born in France in 1973 and was for several years assigned to our priory in Lithuania, where he was the priory superior. From 2016 he was Vicar General of the Congregation and a member of the SOS Abuse Commission, where he demonstrated his resolve to fight against abuse. He was elected Prior General on May 7, 2019.
The first provincial chapters elected Brother Henri-Dominique Prior of the Province of France, Brother Justin Prior of the Vice-Province of Asia-Oceania, Brother Ignaz-Maria Prior of the Province of Europe, Brother Jesus Rodriguez Prior of the Province of the Americas and Brother Côme-Emmanuel Prior of the Province of Africa.
What is the role of the Prior General and the Priors Provincial?
The role of the Prior General and Priors Provincial is to ensure the proper functioning of the community, to promote its apostolic mission and to accompany the brothers, whilst respecting every brother’s inner self and interior freedom.
Upon which authority is the Congregation dependent?
The Congregation of Saint John is an Institute of Diocesan Right and as such is under the authority of the Bishop of Autun, France, Mgr Benoît Rivière. It is ultimately dependent on the Roman congregation for religious life (The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life), and the community superiors maintain regular contact with that congregation.
How is the Congregation organised?
Today the community numbers 422 brothers (of which 260 are priests) of 35 different nationalities. There are approximately 100 brothers in formation, 30 of whom are novices. The brothers live in 50 priories spread over 5 continents. The priories are grouped together into provinces: Africa, the Americas, Europe, France and a vice-province Asia-Oceania.
Each province falls under the responsibility of a Provincial or Vice-Provincial, who represents the Prior General. The latest priories to be founded were in 2022. They are located in Taboan (Philippines) and Lyon (France). See the map of our priories.
Delve a little deeper
How our institutions are run:
The Prior General governs with the help of his council, composed of the Vicar General, the Director of Formation General and his Councillors.
The General Chapter is a gathering of around forty members of the community, elected by their fellow brothers, who come together every three years to address the major concerns of the community, to enact the constitutions and to elect the community’s principal authorities. It is preceded by Provincial Chapters at which the Priors Provincial meet with the brothers of their region.
In the priories, professed brothers elect a prior for a term of three years, with limited possibility of renewal. Priories are normally made up of 5 to 10 brothers, of which at least 4 are perpetually professed.
How are brothers assigned to priories?
A brother is assigned to a priory by the Prior Provincial according to both the needs of the life and mission of the brothers of that priory and the capacities and, as far as possible, the hopes of the brother being assigned.