During the General Chapter (an international meeting of the Order which is held every six years), one of the friars is elected as the Vice Prior General. His role is to work closely with the Prior General, assisting him in his duties, and acting as his Vicar in his absence. The Vice Prior General also co-ordinates the work of the General Council and organises the administration of the Curia.
During the last General Chapter, Father Benny Phang Khong Wing was elected Vice Prior General.
Father Benny was born in Surabaya in 1970. He joined the Order in 1990, solemnly professed in 1997 and was ordained in 1998.
After that he worked in a small parish from 1998-2001, then he went to the Catholic University of America in Washington DC and accomplished his licentiate in moral theology in 2006. After graduation he went back to Indonesia for a year to teach and work in a formation house.
In 2007 he was sent to Rome to study and got his doctorate degree in bioethics from Angelicum in 2010. Fr. Benny went back to Indonesia, taught in STFT Widya Sasana (Carmelite philosophy and theology college with 400 students) and worked in the formation house as a formator and then a prior of the community. During his free time he published some articles in national and international journals, wrote and edited eight books, and gave talks and retreats to many groups in different countries or cities, particularly to the young people.
At the General Chapter in 2013 Fr. Benny was elected General Councillor of Asia, Oceania and Australia of the Order to serve for six year term 2013-2019, and at the General Chapter in 2019 he was elected Vice Prior General of the Order to serve for six year term 2019-2025.
Together with the Delegate for Formation, Father Benny also has responsibility for Formation.