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At the Second General Chapter, held in Bologna in 1221, the Dominican Order’s expansion throughout Christendom was planned in detail. The chapter fathers appointed Paul (d. 1241), a doctor of canon law from Bologna, to lead Dominican missionaries in Hungary, Poland, Albania, Russia, and Mongolia. On the mission to Hungary, in order to cover the Read more…

Mannes (ca. 1170-1235), an older brother of Dominic, was contemplative and holy. He placed himself under his brothers guidance at least from the foundation of the Dominican Order and perhaps even much earlier. Mannes joined the Order and was known as a fervent preacher, virtuous in his habits, meek, humble, and kind. He later helped Read more…

According to tradition, Dominic’s mother–Jane of Aza, also known as Joanna–had a dream before her son’s conception in which she saw a hound racing through the world igniting everything with a flaming torch. Troubled by this dream, she went to pray at the Benedictine abbey of San Domingo de Silos, located in a pleasant valley Read more…

Popular devotion to Dominic increased after his death, and in 1234, only 13 years later, he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX, formerly Cardinal Ugolino, who earlier had been his patron. Canonization involved two boards of inquiry–one in Bologna and one in Toulouse–where eyewitnesses reported on his holiness under solemn oath before an ecclesiastical board Read more…

On August 6, 1221, less than five years after the Holy See formally confirmed the founding of the Order of Preachers, Dominic died in Bologna, the site of one of the Dominicans’ principal university houses and schools of theology. Just before his death Dominic called first all the novices around him and then the oldest Read more…

Although Dominic did not personally establish the third order (the Dominican Laity), he indirectly influenced its founding by his spiritual counseling of many laypeople moved by his preaching. As the Dominican friars established monasteries and priories, groups of the laity assisted them and were influenced by their spirituality. Eventually many of them formed confraternities or Read more…

It was only in the year 1214, however, that the Church received the Rosary in its present form and according to the method we use today. It was given to the Church by St. Dominic, who had received it from the Blessed Virgin as a means of converting the Albigensians and other sinners. I will Read more…

The Dominicans responded to the specific needs they perceived in the contemporary church. One task they took on was combating heresy through learned preaching well grounded in careful theological preparation. While in Rome, Dominic preached in several churches and before the pope and the papal court during Lent. In recognition of his work there, Dominican Read more…

In 1220 Bishop Ivo Odrowatz, the Polish bishop of Krakow, made a pilgrimage to Rome with his two nephews, the brothers Hyacinth and Ceslaus. While there they witnessed Dominic’s miraculous raising to life of a young man named Napoleon at St. Sixtus. Afterwards, through Cardinal Ugolino, they became personally acquainted with Dominic and were deeply Read more…

The First General Chapter, at which Dominic presided, was held in 1220 in Bologna on the feast of Pentecost. A key objective was to organize the Dominican Order and frame its Constitution. Dominic wanted to increase the Order’s efficiency by embodying in its Constitution the fruits of the brothers’ practical experience and his steadfast rule Read more…

Dominic was one of the few of Christ’s servants graced with the special charism of healing, and many healing miracles were attributed to his intercession. While in Rome, Dominic often preached at the church of St. Mark, where he drew enthusiastic crowds of people from all ranks of life. Among those who came to hear Read more…

As the number of his brothers and communities increased, Dominic constantly traveled among them to encourage community members in their undertakings. After stays in Paris and Prouille he returned to Rome in January 1218. The eloquent preaching of the friars in Italy had attracted much attention–they are said to have been the first religious to Read more…