A new Southern Province of Dominican priests and brothers, to be headquartered in New Orleans, was inaugurated last month.

The new province, which became the fourth Dominican province in the nation, will include the states of Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Fr. Bert Ebben, 48, a missionary for 17 years in Nigeria and recently involved in the charismatic renewal, was chosen Provincial. Fr. Jeremy Miller, professor of theology at Emory University, was elected one of the province’s councilors.

Dominicans already staff Holy Cross Church in Atlanta, and involvement in Georgia is likely to increase now.

Founded 750 years ago, Dominicans are an order of preachers and teachers. The theologian St. Thomas Aquinas was one of their earliest members.

The province has adopted as patron St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican of the 16th century born of Spanish and Black parents in the slums of Lima. The new province will emphasize work among blacks, Hispanics and the poor. In addition, the province will continue its tradition of itinerant preaching and university teaching in the South.

Fr. Miller hopes that “ecumenical contacts between Catholics and other Christians will increase and that a stronger Dominican presence in the Southeast will strengthen this.”