Saint Dominic

Domingo de Guzmán was born around 1170 in Caleruega, in Castile, Spain. He studied at Palencia, where during a famine he sold his precious books to feed the poor. He became a canon of the cathedral of Osma, and while traveling through southern France with his bishop, Diego, he saw how the Albigensian heresy was spreading and how poorly the faithful were taught.

Dominic decided that the best answer was preachers who lived the Gospel in poverty and knew the faith well. He founded a monastery of nuns at Prouille in 1206 and gathered companions in Toulouse; in 1216 Pope Honorius III approved the Order of Preachers. Dominic sent his friars to the great university cities of Europe, and the order grew rapidly. Known for his cheerfulness, his long nights of prayer and his compassion, he died in Bologna on August 6, 1221, and was canonized in 1234. Tradition associates him with the spread of the Rosary.

Dominican friars, nuns and lay members around the world celebrate with solemn Masses and processions. In his birthplace, Caleruega, and in Bologna, where his tomb lies, pilgrims gather for his feast.

The Dominican Republic and its capital Santo Domingo bear his name, and Dominican parishes in Latin America often pray the Rosary together on his day.