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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
c. 1170–August 6, 1221
Patron Saint of astronomers, natural sciences, and the Dominican Republic
St. Dominic devoted his life to preaching the Truth of the Gospel and guiding souls back to Christ through prayer, study, and charity. As the founder of the Order of Preachers, known as the Dominicans, he helped shape the intellectual and spiritual life of the Church for centuries.
Dominic was born around 1170 in Caleruega, Spain, into a noble and deeply religious family. He studied theology and the liberal arts and had great compassion for the poor. One well-known account from his youth tells how he sold his valuable books during a famine to provide food and assistance to those in need.
Ordained a priest, Dominic later traveled through southern France with his bishop during a time when the Albigensian heresy had spread false teachings opposed to Christianity. He observed that many people had become separated from the Church because they lacked sound teaching and strong examples of Christian witness. He believed the response needed should be holy preaching grounded in truth, humility, prayer, and personal sacrifice.
To conduct this mission, St. Dominic gathered companions dedicated to scriptural study, communal living, prayer for the salvation of souls, and an active, evangelistic preaching ministry. In 1216, Pope Honorius III formally approved the Order of Preachers. The Dominican order spread quickly across Europe, helping to educate clergy, defend Catholic teaching, and preach the Gospel with fervent passion.
Dominic spent much of his life traveling, preaching, praying, and encouraging his brothers in their mission. He was known for his joyful spirit, compassion for sinners, and deep devotion to Christ. According to tradition, he experienced a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in which she requested that people pray the Rosary. He is credited with spreading devotion to the Rosary.
St. Dominic died in Bologna, Italy, on August 6, 1221. He was canonized just 13 years later by Pope Gregory IX. Through the Dominican Order and the countless saints, theologians, missionaries, and teachers it produced, his mission of preaching the Gospel and teaching the Catholic Faith has continued to influence the Church throughout the world.
The Albigensian heresy, also known as Catharism, taught that the spiritual was good and the physical, including the human body, was evil. They rejected the Incarnation because they did not believe Christ had a human body. They also rejected the Sacraments and Christ’s Death on the Cross. They were vegetarians who sometimes encouraged self-starvation to liberate the holy soul from the evil physical body. They also rejected marriage and procreation. The Dominicans, who were well versed in Scripture and theology, brilliantly countered their arguments. Living austere, simple lives of radical poverty, the Dominicans contradicted the claims of the heretics that Catholics were evil and worldly. With love and patience, they used the Rosary to systematically teach the fundamental truths of the Faith, dismantling the Albigensians’ ideological appeal and bringing many back to Catholic orthodoxy.
The Dominican Order produced many influential saints, scholars, and missionaries throughout Church history. Among the most famous are St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the Church’s greatest theologians and Doctors of the Church; St. Catherine of Siena, a mystic and Doctor of the Church; and St. Martin de Porres, known for his humility and care for the poor. The order also contributed to Catholic education and missionary work through figures such as St. Albert the Great and numerous Dominican preachers and scholars who served the Church across many centuries.
Tradition holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Dominic and asked him to teach the people devotion to the Rosary as a powerful means of prayer and meditation on the life of Christ. While historians note that the Rosary already existed in Dominic’s time, the Dominican Order played a significant role in spreading and promoting the devotion throughout the Church, helping people learn the mysteries of the Faith through Scriptural meditation. Later, Dominicans helped organize Rosary confraternities, preached about the Rosary’s spiritual benefits, and encouraged the faithful to meditate on the mysteries of Christ’s life, death, and Resurrection through this form of prayer.
Filled with beautiful images and quotes, this free eBook will encourage you to run to Our Lady and call upon her to guide you in the path of holiness. Use the form to let us know where we can send you the eBook The Pondering Heart of Mary.
St. Dominic dedicated his life to preaching the Gospel and opposing heresy for the Catholic Church. This EWTN docudrama tells the story of the founder of the Dominicans.
St. Dominic provides an enlightened view on Catharism, a popular heresy that he preached zealously against. But when Simone de Beauvoir shows up with ideas of female freedom, contraception, and abortion, the sparks fly.
St. Dominic and Beauvoir battle over what it means to be a man and a woman. But an attempt to burn each other’s books becomes a test of right and wrong, and the Church must follow Christ to the fullest to preach the Gospel.
Fr. Miguel presents to the class the story of St. Dominic de Guzmán and pictures from his recent trip to Spain.
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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
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