Saint of the Day: St. Dominic

Priest (1170-1221)

His life

+ Dominic de Guzmán was born in Calaruega, Spain. After studying the theology and the arts, he became an Augustinian Canon.

+ Dominic successfully worked to combat heresy in France and became a successful preacher. 

+ In order to provide for the education of children, he founded a community of nuns in Prouille, which later became the motherhouse of all communities of contemplative Dominican nuns.

+ In 1214, Dominic gathered together men who could assist him in his mission of preaching. The rule for this new community—the Order of Preachers—was approved in 1216. 

+ Dominic died in Bologna, Italy, in 1221, and at his canonization in 1234, Pope Gregory IX called him a “man of the Gospel in the footsteps of the Redeemer.”

+ Saint Dominic is honored as the patron of the Dominican Republic and of astronomers. Today, the Dominican Family consists of the First Order of priests and brothers, the Second Order of contemplative nuns, and the Third Order, including both Dominican Sisters of numerous congregations around the world and lay women and men who have dedicated themselves to Saint Dominic’s spirituality and legacy. 

For prayer and reflection

In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth,
and the LORD filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding
and clothed him in a robe of glory, alleluia.—Entrance Antiphon for the Memorial of St. Dominic

Spiritual bonus

On August 8, the Church also remembers Saints Cyriacus, Largus, Smaragdus, and their companions, who were martyred in Rome around the year 304, during the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian. Cyriacus (or Cyriac) has often been depicted in art as a deacon. Because of later, highly romanticized accounts of his sufferings and miracles, he came to be honored as one of the “Fourteen Holy Helpers.”

Prayer

May Saint Dominic come to the help of your Church
by his merits and teaching, O Lord,
and may he, who was an outstanding preacher of your truth,
be a devoted intercessor on our behalf.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S.