ROME — The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas is pleased to announce Dr. Filipe Domingues as its new Director. He has been serving as Deputy Director since 2021. Dr. Domingues was the unanimous choice of the Board of Directors and was recruited for this position.
He will succeed the centre’s founding director, Dr. Donna Orsuto, as of September 1. With this decision, Filipe Domingues also becomes a non-voting member of the Board (ex-officio).
“I joyfully endorse and embrace the Board’s decision to nominate Dr. Filipe Domingues as Director of The Lay Centre,” said Dr. Orsuto, who will continue on the Executive Committee of the centre’s Board and as Senior Advisor, based in Rome. In this new role, crafted for her, Dr. Orsuto will be involved in the organization by promoting special projects and relationships.
On September 1, Dr. Donna Orsuto will begin a three-year term leading the department of moral theology and spiritual theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where she has taught since 1990.
Donna Orsuto and Riekie van Velzen founded The Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas in 1986, with the support of the Ladies of Bethany, to provide a stable community and safe residence for lay students studying at pontifical universities in Rome. Co-founder Van Velzen is a member of the Board and offers administrative consulting whenever necessary. The centre, currently located on the Caelian Hill, also offers leadership formation opportunities.
“I am so grateful to Donna and Riekie for everything they have done for me and so many other lay men and women committed to their faith. I appreciate the trust they have placed in me,” said Domingues, who lived at the centre while studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University, from 2012 to 2018. He was one of the scholarship recipients of the “Leadership Scholars” program, organized by The Lay Centre with the help of its benefactors.
“I am honored by the board's invitation to take over as director. I would also like to thank all those who have worked at The Lay Centre over the last few years, as they have helped us to make this step possible,” he said. “The Lay Centre makes a difference in the lives of so many faithful young women and men and I am thrilled to be part of this.”
Domingues acknowledged the challenges of succeeding the founders of an organization, but also the vital role he will play in “preserving the original charism” and “promoting the organization’s mission in new and creative ways.”
“Finding this balance between preservation and renewal is never a simple task, but with the support of The Lay Centre's Board, particularly from the Executive Committee, we are reigniting our desire to respond to the needs of the Church in today’s world,” he said.
The Lay Centre will roll out a new three-year strategic plan — the result of several years of deliberation with various stakeholders — that will continue to advance the mission to promote the laity in the Church and in the world, he added.
“With the constant support and wise counsel of our Board of Directors, Filipe and I have worked closely together for the past five years to put structures in place to assure that The Lay Centre will continue its mission in this new phase of our history under his capable leadership,” said Dr. Orsuto.
“I look forward to contributing to The Lay Centre’s future by supporting our new Director in any way I can and to celebrating The Lay Centre's 40th anniversary in 2026,” she said.
