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Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians Catholic priest, eventual patron saint and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he and his order are traditionally credited with spreading and popularizing the rosary.
In the earliest narrative source, by Jordan of Saxony, Dominic's parents are not named. The story is told that before his birth his barren mother made a pilgrimage to the Abbey at Silos, and dreamt that a dog leapt from her womb carrying a flaming torch in its mouth, and seemed to set the earth on fire. This story is likely to have emerged when his order became known, after his name, as the Dominican order, Dominicanus in Latin, and a play on words interpreted as Domini canis: "Dog of the Lord." Walsh, Michael J., "Jane of Aza", A New Dictionary of Saints, Liturgical Press, 2007 Jordan adds that Dominic was brought up by his parents and a maternal uncle who was an archbishop.Libellus de principiis, 4. The failure to name his parents is not unusual, since Jordan wrote a history of the Order's early years, rather than a biography of Dominic. A later source of the 13th century gives their names as Juana and Felix.Pedro Ferrando, "Legenda Sancti Dominici, 4." Nearly a century after Dominic's birth, the local author Rodrigo de Cerrato asserted that Dominic's father was an honored and wealthy man in his village.Cerrato, Rodrigo de Vita S. Dominico.
He also said Dominic had the divine gift of speaking in tongues. Quote: "I am well aware that we are reaping these material goods, but we are not sowing spiritual goods in them; we are kneeling and asking God to help us understand them and to be able to speak to them so that we can proclaim the Word of God to them." As quoted in
In 1191, when Spain was desolated by famine, young Dominic gave away his money and sold his clothes, furniture, and even precious manuscripts to feed the hungry. Dominic reportedly told his astonished fellow students, "Would you have me study off these dead skins when men are dying of hunger?"Thomsett, Michael C., The Inquisition: A History,(McFarland, 2010), p. 54
At the age of 24, Dominic was ordained as a priest and joined the canonry of the Cathedral of Osma. In 1198, Don Martin de Bazan, the Bishop of Osma, having reformed the chapter, made Dominic the subprior of the chapter.
Diego de Acebo succeeded Bazan as Bishop of Osma in 1201. In 1203 or 1204, Dominic accompanied Diego on a diplomatic mission for Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, to secure a bride in Denmark for crown prince Ferdinand.Jordan of Saxony, Libellus de principiis pp. 14–20; Gérard de Frachet, Chronica prima MOPH. The envoys traveled to Denmark via Aragon and the south of France. The marriage negotiations ended successfully, but the princess died before leaving for Castile. "Saint Dominic", Lay Dominicans During their return journey, they met with Cistercian monks who had been sent by Pope Innocent III to preach against the Cathars, a religious sect with gnostic and dualistic beliefs which the Catholic Church deemed heretical. Dominic and Diego de Acebo attributed the Cistercians' lack of success to their extravagance and pomp compared to the asceticism of the Cathars. Dominic and Diego decided to adopt a more ascetic way of life and began a program in the south of France to convert the Cathars.
Catholic-Cathar debates were held at Verfeil, Pamiers and Montréal. pp. 52-3, 56-7. Ordered by the Pope to return to his diocese, Diego de Acebo died at Osma in December 1207, leaving Dominic alone in his mission.
Also in 1215, the year of the Fourth Lateran Council, Dominic, and Foulques went to Rome to secure the approval of Pope Innocent III. Dominic returned to Rome a year later and was finally granted written authority in December 1216 by the new pope, Honorius III, for him to form the Ordo Praedicatorum ("Order of Preachers").
In the winter of 1216–1217, at the house of Gregory IX, Dominic first met William of Montferrat, who joined Dominic as a friar in the Order of Preachers and remained a close friend.
Although he traveled extensively to maintain contact with his growing brotherhood of friars, Dominic made his headquarters in Rome. In 1219, Pope Honorius III invited Dominic and his companions to take up residence at the ancient Roman basilica of Santa Sabina, which they did by early 1220. Before that time the friars had a temporary residence in Rome at the convent of San Sisto Vecchio, which Honorius III had given to Dominic circa 1218, intending it to become a convent for a reformation of nuns at Rome under Dominic's guidance. The official foundation of the Dominican convent at Santa Sabina with its studium conventuale, the first Dominican studium in Rome, occurred with the legal transfer of property from Pope Honorius III to the Dominican Order on 5 June 1222, though the brethren had taken up residence there already in 1220. Pierre Mandonnet, OP (1948) St. Dominic and His Work , Translated by Sister Mary Benedicta Larkin, OP, B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis/London, Chapter III, note 50: "If the installation at Santa Sabina does not date from 1220, at least it is from 1221. The official grant was made only in June 1222 (Bullarium OP, I, 15). But the terms of the bull show that there had been a concession earlier. Before that concession, the Pope said that the friars had no hospitium in Rome. At that time St. Sixtus was no longer theirs; Conrad of Metz could not have alluded to St. Sixtus, therefore, when he said in 1221: "The Pope has conferred on them a house in Rome" (Laurent no. 136). It is possible that the Pope was waiting for the completion of the building that he was having done at Santa Sabina, before giving the title to the property, on 5 June 1222, to the new Master of the Order, elected not many days before." Accessed 20 May 2012. The studium at Santa Sabina was the forerunner of the studium generale at Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The latter would be transformed in the 16th century into the College of Saint Thomas (), and then in the 20th century into the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum sited at the convent of Saints Dominic and Sixtus.
Dominic arrived in Bologna on 21 December 1218. A convent was established at the Mascarella church by Reginald of Orleans. Soon afterward they had to move to the church of San Nicolò of the Vineyards. Dominic settled in this church and held the first two General Chapters of the order there.
According to Guiraud, Dominic abstained from meat, "observed stated fasts and periods of silence", "selected the worst accommodations and the meanest clothes", and "never allowed himself the luxury of a bed". "When traveling, he beguiled the journey with spiritual instruction and prayers". Guiraud also states that Dominic frequently traveled barefoot and that "rain and other discomforts elicited from his lips nothing but praises to God".
Dominic died at the age of fifty-one, according to Guiraud "exhausted with the austerities and labors of his career". He had reached the convent of St Nicholas at Bologna, Italy, "weary and sick with a fever". Guiraud states that Dominic "made the monks lay him on some sacking stretched upon the ground" and that "the brief time that remained to him was spent in exhorting his followers to have charity, to guard their humility, and to make their treasure out of poverty". He died at noon on 6 August 1221. His body was moved to a simple sarcophagus in 1233. Under the authority of Pope Gregory IX, Dominic was canonized in 1234. In 1267 Dominic's remains were moved to the shrine, made by Nicola Pisano and his workshop for the Church of St. Dominic in Bologna.
Canon 27 of the Third Council of the Lateran of 1179 stressed the duty of princes to repress heresy and condemned "the Brabantians, Aragonese, Basques, Navarrese, and others who practice such cruelty toward Christians that they respect neither churches nor monasteries, spare neither widows nor orphans, neither age nor sex, but after the manner of pagans, destroy and lay waste everything".Sullivan, Karen. Truth and the heretic: crises of knowledge in medieval French literature, (University of Chicago Press, 2005) p. 120 This was followed in 1184 by a decretal of Pope Lucius III, Ad abolendam. This decreed that bishops were to investigate the presence of heresy within their respective dioceses. Practices and procedures of episcopal inquisitions could vary from one diocese to another, depending on the resources available to individual bishops and their relative interest or disinterest. Convinced that Church teaching contained revealed truth, the first recourse of bishops was that of persuasio. Through discourse, debates, and preaching, they sought to present a better explanation of Church teaching. This approach often proved very successful.Peters, Edward (1988). Inquisition. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
In 1231 Pope Gregory IX appointed a number of Papal Inquisitors, mostly Dominican Order and , for the various regions of Europe. As , they were accustomed to travel. Unlike the haphazard episcopal methods, the papal inquisition was thorough and systematic, keeping detailed records. This tribunal or court functioned in France, Italy and parts of Germany and had virtually ceased operation by the early fourteenth century.
In the 15th century, the Spanish Inquisition commissioned the artist Pedro Berruguete to depict Dominic presiding at an auto da fé. Thus, the Spanish inquisitors promoted a historical legend for the sake of auto-justification.Edward Peters (1988) Inquisition, p. 223, New York: The Free Press Reacting against the Spanish tribunals, 16th- and 17th-century Protestant polemicists developed and perpetuated the legend of Dominic the Inquisitor.Peters, Inquisition, p.223 This image gave German Protestant critics of the Catholic Church an argument against the Dominican Order whose preaching had proven to be a formidable opponent in the lands of the Reformation.Peters, Inquisition, p. 129 As Edward Peters notes, "In Protestant historiography of the sixteenth century a kind of anti-cult of St. Dominic grew up."
The Arca di San Domenico is a shrine containing the remains of Saint Dominic, located in the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna.
The Pattern of Urlaur is an annual festival held on 4 August at Urlaur, Kilmovee, County Mayo since medieval times, to commemorate the feast day of Saint Dominic. "Kilkelly, County Mayo", Mayo Ireland
The following dates are all feasts dedicated to Saint Dominic observed by Catholics depending on location and tradition:
Dominic is honored in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 8 August.
In 1963, the Belgian nun Sœur Sourire reached number one on the U.S. music charts with the song Dominique, dedicated to St. Dominic.
Prouille
In late 1206, Acebo and his group established themselves at the Monastery of Our Lady of Prouille in France. Bishop Foulques of Toulouse allowed them to use the church. The house was intended partly as a refuge for women who had previously lived in Cathar religious houses, and partly the first established base of operations.William Westcott Kibler, Medieval France: An Encyclopedia (Routledge 1995), s.v. "Dominican order". The first nuns of Prouille lived for several months at Fanjeaux, because the buildings at Prouille were not yet habitable. Dominic gave them the Rule of St. Augustine.
The Vision of Mary and the rosary
Based on a Dominican tradition, in 1208 Dominic experienced a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the church at Prouille, during which she gave him a rosary.Catherine Beebe, St. Dominic and the rosary This gave rise to the title Our Lady of the Rosary.Robert Feeney, The Rosary: The Little Summa The prayer beads were well-known at the time; it was not the beginning of rosary devotion, but Dominicans contributed much to its spread. For centuries the rosary has been at the heart of the Dominican Order. Pope Pius XI stated, that the rosary is "the principle and foundation on which the Order of St. Dominic rests for perfecting the lives of its members and obtaining the salvation of others." History of the Dominicans (2014) Dominican Shrine of St. Jude, New Priory Press
Foundation of the Dominicans
In 1215, Dominic with six followers moved into a house given them by Peter Seila of Toulouse. Dominic saw the need for a new type of organization to address the spiritual needs of the growing cities of the era, one that would combine dedication and systematic education, with more organizational flexibility than either monastic orders or the secular clergy. He subjected himself and his companions to the monastic rules of prayer and penance; Bishop Foulques of Toulouse gave them written authority to preach throughout his territory. French translation of Foulques' 1215 letter
Later life
Cecilia Cesarini, who was received by Dominic into his new order, in her old age described him as "...thin and of middle height. His face was handsome and somewhat fair. He had reddish hair and beard and beautiful eyes ... His hands were long and fine and his voice pleasingly resonant. He never got bald, though he wore the full tonsure, which was mingled with a few grey hairs." "Life of St. Dominic", Dominicans of Canada
Inquisition
Dominic is commonly but apocryphally associated with the Inquisition. Historical sources from Dominic's own time period reveal nothing about his involvement in the Inquisition.See Bernard Hamilton (1981) The Medieval Inquisition, pp. 36–37, New York: Holmes & Meier; (1982) Early Dominicans: Selected Writings, p. 114, note 90, Ramsey, New Jersey: Paulist Press Dominic died in 1221, and the office of the Inquisition was not established until 1231 in Lombardy and 1234 in Languedoc.Guy Bedouelle (1981) St. Dominic: The Grace of the Word, p. 185, San Francisco: Ignatius Press
Cord of Saint Dominic
The Cord (belt) of Saint Dominic is a Catholic Church sacramental which reminds the wearer of the protection of Saint Dominic. The history of the cord is associated with the miraculous image of Saint Dominic in Soriano, the perimeter of which painting defines the length of the cord. The beginning of the prayer "O wonderful hope" is written on the cord. According to the tradition, if someone wishes to receive grace from Saint Dominic, they should wear it all the time. Infertile couples use the cord to pray for intercession of Saint Dominic for the gift of offspring from God.
Veneration
The feast of Saint Dominic is celebrated with great pomp and devotion in Malta, in the old city of Birgu and the capital city of Valletta. Pope Pius V, a Dominican friar himself, aided the Knights of St. John to build Valletta.
Toponymy
The Dominican Republic and its capital Santo Domingo are named after Saint Dominic.
Bibliography
(2025). 9780809149544, The Paulist Press. ISBN 9780809149544
(2025). 9780814619117, The Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814619117
External links
Categories: 1170 Births, 1221 Deaths, People From The Province Of Burgos, Spanish Dominicans, Dominican Saints, Spanish Christian Theologians, Founders Of Catholic Religious Communities, Spanish Roman Catholic Saints, Marian Visionaries, Dominican Spirituality, 13th-century Christian Saints, Burials At The Basilica Of San Domenico, Pre-reformation Saints Of The Lutheran Liturgical Calendar, Pre-reformation Anglican Saints, Masters Of The Order Of Preachers, Medieval Spanish Theologians, 13th-century Roman Catholic Theologians, Anglican Saints
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