Saint Dominic

Saint Dominic, also known as Dominic de Guzmán, was a Castilian-French Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order¹. He was born on August 8, 1170, in Caleruega, Kingdom of Castile, and died on August 6, 1221, in Bologna, Kingdom of Italy, Holy Roman Empire.

The Dominican Order, also known as the Order of Preachers (Latin: Ordo Prædicatorum; abbreviated OP), is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right. It was founded in France by a Castilian-French priest named Dominic de Guzmán. The order was approved by Pope Honorius III via the papal bull Religiosam vitam on December 22, 1216.

Members of the order, who are referred to as Dominicans, generally display the letters OP after their names, standing for Ordinis Praedicatorum, meaning 'of the Order of Preachers'. Membership in the order includes friars, nuns, active sisters, and lay or secular Dominicans (formerly known as tertiaries). More recently, there have been a growing number of associates of the religious sisters who are unrelated to the tertiaries.

The Dominican Order came into being during the Middle Ages at a time when men of God were no longer expected to stay behind the walls of a cloister. Instead, they travelled among the people, taking as their examples the apostles of the primitive Church. Out of this ideal emerged two orders of mendicant friars – one, the Friars Minor, led by Francis of Assisi; the other, the Friars Preachers, led by Dominic de Guzmán.

The order is famed for its intellectual tradition and for having produced many leading theologians and philosophers. In 2018, there were 5,747 Dominican friars, including 4,299 priests. The order is headed by the master of the order who, as of 2022, is Gerard Timoner III. Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Siena are the co-patronesses of the order.

The motto of the Dominican Order is "Laudare, benedicere, praedicare" which translates to 'To praise, to bless, to preach'. The order's headquarters is at the Convento Santa Sabina, Piazza Pietro d'Illiria 1, Rome, Italy.

He is venerated in the Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism. His major shrine is the Basilica of San Domenico. His feast days are on August 8, May 24 (translation of relics), and August 4 (pre-1970 General Roman Calendar).

Saint Dominic is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists. He and his order are traditionally credited with spreading and popularizing the rosary. He is alternatively called Dominic of Osma, Dominic of Caleruega, and Domingo Félix de Guzmán.

His life began in Caleruega, halfway between Osma and Aranda de Duero in Old Castile, Spain. He was named after Saint Dominic of Silos. The Benedictine abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos lies a few miles north of Caleruega. His parents were Juana and Felix.

At the age of fourteen, Dominic was sent to the Premonstratensian monastery of Santa María de La Vid and subsequently transferred for further studies in the schools of Palencia. He later founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans), a mendicant religious order with a universal mission of preaching, a centralized organization and government, and a great emphasis on scholarship. He is a patron saint of the Dominican Republic and of astronomers.



(1) Saint Dominic - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Dominic. (2) Saint Dominic | Biography, Feast Day, Patron Saint Of, & Facts. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Dominic.

(3) Dominican Order - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_order.