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Saint Dominic
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Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic, OP (Spanish: Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (Spanish: [ɡuθˈman]), was a Castilian Catholic priest, eventual patron saint and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he and his order are traditionally credited with spreading and popularizing the rosary.
Dominic was born in Caleruega, halfway between Osma and Aranda de Duero in Old Castile, Spain. He was named after Saint Dominic of Silos. The Benedictine abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos lies a few miles north of Caleruega.
In the earliest narrative source, by Jordan of Saxony, Dominic's parents are not named. The story is told that before his birth his barren mother made a pilgrimage to the Abbey at Silos, and dreamt that a dog leapt from her womb carrying a flaming torch in its mouth, and seemed to set the earth on fire. This story is likely to have emerged when his order became known, after his name, as the Dominican order, Dominicanus in Latin, and a play on words interpreted as Domini canis: "Dog of the Lord." Jordan adds that Dominic was brought up by his parents and a maternal uncle who was an archbishop. The failure to name his parents is not unusual, since Jordan wrote a history of the Order's early years, rather than a biography of Dominic. A later source of the 13th century gives their names as Juana and Felix. Nearly a century after Dominic's birth, the local author Rodrigo de Cerrato asserted that Dominic's father was an honored and wealthy man in his village. The travel narrative of Pero Tafur, written circa 1439 (about a pilgrimage to Dominic's tomb in Italy), states that Dominic's father belonged to the family de Guzmán, and that his mother belonged to the Aça or Aza family. Dominic's mother, Joan of Aza, was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1829. His older brother, Manés was also beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on 1834.
At fourteen years of age, Dominic was sent to the Premonstratensian monastery of Santa María de La Vid and subsequently transferred for further studies in the schools of Palencia. In Palencia, he devoted six years to the arts and four to theology. At some point in time he also joined Santa María de La Vid.
In 1191, when Spain was desolated by famine, young Dominic gave away his money and sold his clothes, furniture, and even precious manuscripts to feed the hungry. Dominic reportedly told his astonished fellow students, "Would you have me study off these dead skins when men are dying of hunger?"
At the age of 24, Dominic was ordained as a priest and joined the canonry of the Cathedral of Osma. In 1198, Don Martin de Bazan, the Bishop of Osma, having reformed the chapter, made Dominic the subprior of the chapter.
Diego de Acebo succeeded Bazan as Bishop of Osma in 1201. In 1203 or 1204, Dominic accompanied Diego on a diplomatic mission for Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, to secure a bride in Denmark for crown prince Ferdinand. The envoys traveled to Denmark via Aragon and the south of France. The marriage negotiations ended successfully, but the princess died before leaving for Castile. During their return journey, they met with Cistercian monks who had been sent by Pope Innocent III to preach against the Cathars, a religious sect with gnostic and dualistic beliefs which the Catholic Church deemed heretical. Dominic and Diego de Acebo attributed the Cistercians' lack of success to their extravagance and pomp compared to the asceticism of the Cathars. Dominic and Diego decided to adopt a more ascetic way of life and began a program in the south of France to convert the Cathars.
In late 1206, Acebo and his group established themselves at the Monastery of Our Lady of Prouille in France. Bishop Foulques of Toulouse allowed them to use the church. The house was intended partly as a refuge for women who had previously lived in Cathar religious houses, and partly the first established base of operations. The first nuns of Prouille lived for several months at Fanjeaux, because the buildings at Prouille were not yet habitable. Dominic gave them the Rule of St. Augustine.
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Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic, OP (Spanish: Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (Spanish: [ɡuθˈman]), was a Castilian Catholic priest, eventual patron saint and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he and his order are traditionally credited with spreading and popularizing the rosary.
Dominic was born in Caleruega, halfway between Osma and Aranda de Duero in Old Castile, Spain. He was named after Saint Dominic of Silos. The Benedictine abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos lies a few miles north of Caleruega.
In the earliest narrative source, by Jordan of Saxony, Dominic's parents are not named. The story is told that before his birth his barren mother made a pilgrimage to the Abbey at Silos, and dreamt that a dog leapt from her womb carrying a flaming torch in its mouth, and seemed to set the earth on fire. This story is likely to have emerged when his order became known, after his name, as the Dominican order, Dominicanus in Latin, and a play on words interpreted as Domini canis: "Dog of the Lord." Jordan adds that Dominic was brought up by his parents and a maternal uncle who was an archbishop. The failure to name his parents is not unusual, since Jordan wrote a history of the Order's early years, rather than a biography of Dominic. A later source of the 13th century gives their names as Juana and Felix. Nearly a century after Dominic's birth, the local author Rodrigo de Cerrato asserted that Dominic's father was an honored and wealthy man in his village. The travel narrative of Pero Tafur, written circa 1439 (about a pilgrimage to Dominic's tomb in Italy), states that Dominic's father belonged to the family de Guzmán, and that his mother belonged to the Aça or Aza family. Dominic's mother, Joan of Aza, was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1829. His older brother, Manés was also beatified by Pope Gregory XVI on 1834.
At fourteen years of age, Dominic was sent to the Premonstratensian monastery of Santa María de La Vid and subsequently transferred for further studies in the schools of Palencia. In Palencia, he devoted six years to the arts and four to theology. At some point in time he also joined Santa María de La Vid.
In 1191, when Spain was desolated by famine, young Dominic gave away his money and sold his clothes, furniture, and even precious manuscripts to feed the hungry. Dominic reportedly told his astonished fellow students, "Would you have me study off these dead skins when men are dying of hunger?"
At the age of 24, Dominic was ordained as a priest and joined the canonry of the Cathedral of Osma. In 1198, Don Martin de Bazan, the Bishop of Osma, having reformed the chapter, made Dominic the subprior of the chapter.
Diego de Acebo succeeded Bazan as Bishop of Osma in 1201. In 1203 or 1204, Dominic accompanied Diego on a diplomatic mission for Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, to secure a bride in Denmark for crown prince Ferdinand. The envoys traveled to Denmark via Aragon and the south of France. The marriage negotiations ended successfully, but the princess died before leaving for Castile. During their return journey, they met with Cistercian monks who had been sent by Pope Innocent III to preach against the Cathars, a religious sect with gnostic and dualistic beliefs which the Catholic Church deemed heretical. Dominic and Diego de Acebo attributed the Cistercians' lack of success to their extravagance and pomp compared to the asceticism of the Cathars. Dominic and Diego decided to adopt a more ascetic way of life and began a program in the south of France to convert the Cathars.
In late 1206, Acebo and his group established themselves at the Monastery of Our Lady of Prouille in France. Bishop Foulques of Toulouse allowed them to use the church. The house was intended partly as a refuge for women who had previously lived in Cathar religious houses, and partly the first established base of operations. The first nuns of Prouille lived for several months at Fanjeaux, because the buildings at Prouille were not yet habitable. Dominic gave them the Rule of St. Augustine.
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