St. Dominic

The Spanish churchman St. Dominic (ca. 1170-1221) founded the Dominican order, a religious community officially called the Order of Preachers.

Dominic was born to the well-to-do Guzmán family in the town of Caleruega in northern Spain. As a young man, he studied the liberal arts and theology at Palencia. After he was ordained a priest, he joined the cathedral canons of the city of Osma, who lived a community life under the rule of St. Augustine.

When he was about 30, Dominic accompanied his bishop on several diplomatic missions in northern Europe. In the course of these travels he became aware of the religious ideas of the Albigensians, a Manichaean movement in southern France. This sect believed that the soul is good and the body is evil and that man must be purified and must not indulge in any physical pleasures. The Pope had sent legates to counteract the movement, but with their sumptuous clothes, fine horses, and numerous attendants they only succeeded in reinforcing the Albigensians' beliefs. Dominic saw that the only way to preach orthodox doctrine effectively to these people was to be as poor as they were and to be thoroughly knowledgable in Christian theology. He stayed in southern France for several years and, together with a small group of like-minded men, tried to put his ideas into practice by preaching, studying, praying, and living in poverty.

After a papal crusade crushed the heretics, in 1215 Dominic and his group of 16 were welcomed by the bishop of Toulouse and established as the official preachers of that diocese. Dominic then went to Rome, where he obtained Pope Innocent III's approval for the establishment of a religious order dedicated to preaching and based on a deep knowledge of the Scriptures and Christian truth. Until this time religious orders had been associated with monasteries, where men lived apart from the world and spent their time in prayer and physical work. But Dominic conceived of a group of men who would be dedicated primarily to preaching and thus to helping people in the mainstream of life. Living together in a city house, where they would pray and study, these men would be able to go wherever they were needed and would substitute study for the traditional manual labor of monks.

In 1217 Dominic showed his confidence in the men who shared his ideal and scattered the little group of 16 around Europe. He sent some to Paris to study theology, some to Bologna to study law, and others to Rome and Madrid. Two stayed behind in Toulouse and two more in nearby Prouille. Wherever they went, these men attracted others, and soon there were hundreds of followers of Dominic's ideal, many of them students and masters at universities.

During the next 2 years Dominic traveled over 3,000 miles on foot, visiting and encouraging his men in Toulouse, Paris, Milan, Rome and in Spain. In 1220 the first meeting or general chapter of the friars took place in Bologna, and there it was decided that the order would have a representational system of government, with the friars in each house electing their superiors for fixed terms. These representatives met again in 1221 and divided the order geographically into provinces. Shortly after this meeting Dominic died in Bologna in 1221; he was canonized in 1234.

Dominic's genius had several ingredients. He was a charismatic leader, able to evaluate a situation and act decisively. He had confidence in his own ideals and in the people who shared them. His mind was sharpened by study, but before he wrote, lectured, or preached, he turned to God in prayer. It was said of Dominic that "he loved everyone, so everyone loved him." By 1256 the group he had founded had over 13,000 members, and it continues to flourish today.

Further Reading

Marie Humbert Vicaire, Saint Dominic and His Times (2 vols., 1957; trans., 1 vol., 1964), is the most complete and accurate biography of St. Dominic in English. Pierre Mandonnet, Saint Dominic and His Work (2 vols., 1938; trans., 1 vol., 1944), contains a thorough study of the historical and religious background of Dominic's life. Bede Jarrett, Life of Saint Dominic (1924; 2d ed. 1934), presents the personal warmth and genius of the saint.

Additional Sources

Monshau, Michael, Praying with Dominic, Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's Press, 1993.

Bedouelle, Guy, Saint Dominic: the grace of the word, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987. □

Saint Dominic , 1170?–1221, Castilian churchman, named Domingo de Guzmán, founder of the Dominicans . He studied at Palencia and became a canon, then prior of canons, of the cathedral of Osma. He and his bishop went (c.1203) to Rome seeking permission to evangelize the Tatars ; instead, Pope Innocent III sent them to S France to preach to the Albigenses . Adopting absolute poverty, they wandered about Languedoc preaching and were the first Catholic missionaries to have success there. St. Dominic started a community for women converts at Prouille in 1206. In 1216 he was given a house and church at Toulouse for his band of preachers, now numbering 16. The same year he went to Rome and received from Pope Honorius III approval of his plans for the new order. The order, with its novel vocation to study and preaching, grew phenomenally. An ancient tradition, often pictured, tells how the saint received the rosary from the Virgin Mary in a vision. It is also told that St. Dominic and St. Francis met and became friends in Rome, establishing a close tie between Franciscans and Dominicans that has continued to the present. Feast: Aug. 4.

Bibliography: See B. Jarrett, Life of St. Dominic (1934, repr. 1964); P. F. Mandonnet, St. Dominic and His Work (tr. 1944); F. C. Lehner, ed., Saint Dominic: Biographical Documents (1964); M. H. Vicaire, Saint Dominic and His Times (1964).

Dominic, St (c.1174–1221), founder of the Order of Preachers known as the Dominican Order. Born in Old Castile, he joined the canons of Osma. In 1203–5 he accompanied the new bishop of Osma on two embassies to N. Europe; on their way back to Spain they became involved in the mission against the Albigensians. A new style of itinerant, mendicant preaching was adopted and in 1215 Dominic, who was a regular member of the mission, was put in charge of its new base at Toulouse. With the support of the local bishop, he founded a permanent community of preachers there. They adopted the Rule of St Augustine and between 1216 and 1218 were progressively recognized by Honorius III as a new order. In 1217 Dominic began to disperse his friars to other parts of the world. In 1220 he summoned a General Chapter at Bologna, where the Order's first constitutions were completed. He also laid the foundations of an order of Dominican nuns. He is traditionally, but wrongly, held to have instituted the rosary. Feast day, 8 Aug.; formerly 5 Aug. until 1558, then 4 Aug.

Dominic, St (1170–1221) Founder of the Dominican order of friars. He was born in Spain, of noble family, but as a young man adopted an austere life, becoming a priest and canon of Osma Cathedral. In 1215 he attended the Fourth LATERAN COUNCIL. In that year he founded the Dominicans or ‘Black Friars’ because they wear a white tunic with a black mantle. The order became very popular in the 13th century, being used by several popes for preaching crusades and for the INQUISITION.

St Dominic (c.1170–1221), Spanish priest and friar; Spanish name Domingo de Guzmán. In 1216 he founded the Order of Friars Preachers at Toulouse in France; its members became known as Dominicans or Black Friars. In art his usual emblems are a lily or a black and white dog, from the punning Domini canis ‘hound of God’. His feast day is 8 August.

Dominic, St (1170–1221). Founder of the Dominicans. Born in Old Castile, he became a canon regular in Osma. With his bishop, Diego d'Azevedo, he initiated a new style of evangelization in Languedoc, characterized by humility and rigorous poverty. From this evolved the Order of Preachers, which he established in 1215. He was canonized in 1234: feast day, 7 Aug.

Dominic, Saint (1170–1221) ( Domingo de Guzmán) Spanish priest, founder of the Dominicans. In 1203, Pope Innocent III sent him to s France to preach to the Albigenses. He founded a monastery at Prouille. He developed an order based on scholastic and democratic principles, and rules derived from Saint Augustine. His feast day is August 4.