From its foundation in AD 1216, the Order of Preachers responded to an existential threat to the Church and the culture amidst chaotic circumstances. St. Dominic, known as “the Light of the Church,” rose to the challenge when a dangerous heresy, Albigensianism, threatened Europe’s Christian concept of the sanctity of ordinary human life.

The first Dominican friars were rooted in faith in God’s Providence and willing to improvise in new and dynamic ways. They spread the Gospel by uniting faith and reason, boldly taking the fight to the brand new intellectual centers of Europe, the universities.

Today, with over 50 men in formation, the Dominican Province of St. Joseph is the fastest growing men’s religious community in the country. These men were educated at top institutions of higher learning and many have left promising careers in finance, law, medicine, and the sciences to answer God’s call to preach the Gospel for the salvation of souls.