St. Dominic: Feast Day, Patronage & Prayers
Feast day: August 8 (Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest)
Patron of: Astronomers, the Dominican Republic, and preachers.
About St. Dominic
St. Dominic de Guzmán was born around 1170 in Caleruega, Castile, in Spain. As a student at Palencia he sold his precious books to feed the poor during a famine, saying he could not study on dead skins while living men starved. He became a canon of the cathedral of Osma, and while traveling through southern France with his bishop, he saw how the Albigensian heresy was drawing many away from the faith.
Dominic was convinced that the answer was holy, humble preachers who lived in poverty and knew the faith deeply. He gathered companions, and in 1216 Pope Honorius III approved the Order of Preachers, now known as the Dominicans. Dominic sent his brothers to the university cities of Europe to study and preach, and he also founded communities of nuns devoted to prayer. He was known for his joy, his nights spent in prayer, and his gentleness with others. A long tradition closely links him and his order with spreading the Rosary. Dominic died in Bologna in 1221 and was canonized in 1234. He teaches that truth should be shared with love and joy.
Prayers to St. Dominic on Daily Catholic Prayers
Browse every saint in our Catalog of Saints A–Z.
Comments