Saint Dominic

Life story

Dominic was born around 1170 at Caleruega in Castile, Spain. He studied at Palencia and became a canon of the cathedral chapter of Osma. Around 1203 he accompanied Bishop Diego on a royal mission to northern Europe, and on the way back met the debates about the Cathar movement in Languedoc, southern France.

Seeing that preaching there required people who lived simply and knew doctrine well, Dominic and a few companions preached in poverty. Around 1206 he founded a first community of women at Prouille. In 1215 he and a few disciples formed a first group at Toulouse, and on 22 December 1216 Pope Honorius III approved the Order of Preachers.

He sent the friars to study at Paris and Bologna and encouraged them to combine study with preaching in the towns. The order's general chapters were held in Bologna in 1220 and 1221, laying the foundations of its participatory way of governing. He travelled constantly on foot through many countries, from Spain and France to Italy.

Dominic died at Bologna on 6 August 1221, when the order already had many houses in Europe. Pope Gregory IX canonised him in 1234. The Order of Preachers, commonly called the Dominicans, later gave the Church many leading theologians, among them Thomas Aquinas. The order he founded, which grew quickly after his death, became known especially for its schools and universities, and its friars preached in cities across Italy, France, Spain and beyond within a few decades.

Works and witness

• Canon of Osma and student at Palencia
• Preached in Languedoc, southern France
• Founded a community of women at Prouille around 1206
• Order of Preachers approved by Honorius III in 1216
• Held the general chapters at Bologna in 1220 and 1221

Saints from the same country

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint Francis Xavier, Saint John of the Cross

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Jordan of Saxony, Libellus de principiis Ordinis Praedicatorum
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.