Every August 8, the Catholic Church celebrates Santo Domingo de Guzmán, founder of the Order of Preachers.
In the cradle of saints
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Domingo was born on August 8, 1170, in Caleruega, Burgos (Spain). His mother was the Blessed Juana de Aza, and his father, the Venerable Don Félix Núñez de Guzmán.
From the ages of 14 to 28, Domingo lived in Palencia, where he received a careful education in the arts (humanities), philosophy and theology. Later, in that city, he served as a professor at the cathedral school for a period of four years.
Generosity and selflessness
By 1190, Dominic had already finished his degree and received the tonsure. At that time, the Iberian Peninsula was experiencing a climate of tension: to the warlike presence of the Moors – the Arab-Muslim population – in Spain, there were continuous confrontations between Christian princes and lords.
A great famine then occurred in the Palencia region. This situation deeply touched Domingo who, pitied by the misery in which many lived, decided to put himself at the service of those most in need. He got rid of much of his belongings and his personal library in order to raise some money and donate it.
Make yourself an offering
One day, a woman appeared before Domingo with her face covered in tears. She told the saint how her brother had fallen prisoner to the Moors and how they had taken him away. Domingo immediately decided to offer himself as a ransom for that man.
That single gesture, full of bravery and generosity, made the boy’s captors give up their intention of holding him. In the end, it was not even necessary for Domingo to turn himself in. The determination he had shown was enough and earned him popular recognition.
Proclaim the Lord properly
Domingo, at 24 years of age, was called by the bishop of Osma to occupy the position of canon of the cathedral, and, a year later, he was ordained a priest.
Later, the prelate had to travel to Denmark at the request of King Alfonso VIII and decided to take Dominic with him. During the trip, the saint was shocked by the reach of the Albigensian heresy (Catharism) in those lands. This led him to the conviction that good preaching of the Gospel was indispensable, and that if it was preached in a didactic manner it would be possible to lead the unwary from error, and thus strengthen the faith of the people.
The Order of Preachers
By 1207, Saint Dominic was completely dedicated to his missionary and apostolic work. Together with him a group of companions had formed who shared the desire to be good preachers. Like Dominic, they had also left behind all kinds of comforts and now lived on alms.
Domingo is dedicated to the training of priests so that they can preach sound doctrine with loquacity. He would later found the Order of Preachers (whose members would later be known as ‘Dominicans’). The Order was established in Toulouse (France), during the so-called Albigensian Crusade, later it would be confirmed by Pope Honorius III, on December 22, 1216.
Throughout his life, Dominic received up to three papal requests to be a bishop, but he always declined to take care of the Order he had founded. The years after 1216 were ones of exhausting spiritual effort; The saint would not rest until he saw his foundation consolidated.
The rosary
According to tradition, supported by numerous pontifical documents, one night, Saint Dominic, while in prayer, had a vision in which the Virgin Mary appeared to his aid and gave him the Rosary, referring to it as the most powerful weapon to win souls.
The Virgin taught him to pray it and asked him to do the same with everyone he could. She also made a promise: everyone who prayed it would obtain abundant graces. Thus, Dominic would become the greatest propagator of the prayer to Our Mother, the Holy Rosary, the Marian prayer par excellence.
Saint Dominic de Guzmán, who knew and treated Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Friars Minor – the other great mendicant order -, left for the Father’s House in Bologna (then part of the Holy German Empire, today Germany) on the 6th of August 1221. He was 50 years old.
Pope Gregory IX canonized him in 1234. In his speech, the Pontiff said of Dominic: “I am as certain of the sanctity of this man as of the sanctity of Saints Peter and Saints.”
Mendicant orders and missionary spirit
The Dominicans and Franciscans – both members of the so-called mendicant orders – became the pillars that supported the Church during the crises of the 13th century and the late Middle Ages. Today, with renewed ardor, the children of Saint Dominic continue to be invited to the beautiful adventure of preaching Christ.
Just a few years ago (2021) the VIII Centenary of the death of Santo Domingo de Guzmán was celebrated. On the occasion of this, Pope Francis sent a letter to Brother Gerard Francisco Timoner OP, Master General of the Order of Preachers, in which he said:
«In our time, characterized by great transformations and new challenges to the evangelizing mission of the Church, Dominic can serve as an inspiration to all the baptized, called, as missionary disciples, to reach all the “peripheries” of our world with the light of the Gospel and the merciful love of Christ. Speaking of the perennial timelines of Saint Dominic’s vision and charisma, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us (General Audience, February 3, 2010) that “a missionary fire must always burn in the heart of the Church.”
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If you want to know more about Santo Domingo de Guzmán, we recommend this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Santo_Domingo_de_Guzmjudgment.
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