Dominic, who founded the Order of Preachers, was born in 1170 of a noble Spanish family. He was studying to become a cleric in the catholic church, and at a young age was appointed canon of the local cathedral by bishop de Bazan of Osma. He clearly loved learning and collected a number of religious texts, which in a time of great drought he sold giving the money to the starving for food. This was only one of many acts of charity made by Dominic. He was also very studious and prayerful, and at twenty-five was ordained.
After becoming ordained, he entered a religious house soon becoming subprior elected by his religious brothers of the house. The prior of the house, Diego de Azevado, become bishop of Osma in 1201 and Dominic was elected prior.
A few years later bishop de Azevado was appointed as an ambassador by the King to negotiate a marriage for the King’s son, and the bishop asked Dominic to accompany him. During the journey to France, they encountered many who were turning to the Albigensian heresy. Albigensian doctrine was based on a dualism of two eternally opposing principles, good and evil, all matter being regarded as evil and the creator of the material world as a devil. When spending the night at a inn, Dominic learned that the inn keeper was an Albigensian heretic. He spent the entire night in conversation with the man convincing him of the error in that belief and bringing him back to the catholic faith. This began Dominic’s apostolic teaching and preaching for which the Order of Preachers was found and continues today.
At this same time, many religious and ordained were living lives very different from the lay people of the day. That is, many in the church were living in very high standards, while much of the common folk were not. Those leading the Albigensian movement began to point out these differences and often lived very simple lives of poverty and asceticism, which many saw as both noble and holy. Dominic observed this himself, and understood the excesses of the religious and ordained to be a poor example of Christ. He took on a very austere life eating bread and soup, sleeping on the floor and wearing only his habit without shoes. He encouraged others seeking to fight the Albigensian heresy on behalf of the catholic church to do the same. He also encouraged his associates to use peaceful persuasion, well-formed dialogue and their personal example of simple living to bring there heretics back to the faith. They taught and preached with only moderate success, and soon the number of his associates dwindled.
Dominic came to understand how women influenced the lives of those around them, so he founded a convent at Prouille to help teach the faith. A religious house for his associates was founded soon after nearby. These two religious houses were to become a source of education and formation in the faith for the region. In the turmoil of what followed as armed struggle between those of the faith and the heretics, Dominic worked passionately in teaching and preaching to both the faith and sought peace in the name of Christ. He was offered a bishopric three times, declining each, so that he could continue his work.
He spent nearly ten years in the region of Languedoc directing the work of his order of preachers. He great desire was to revive the apostolic spirit in the church, specifically among the ordained clergy now known for their excesses rather than their piety. He also began to create formally his new order to be different from others in existence at the time. It would be an order for lay and ordained that used knowledge of theology, prayer and meditation to serve in the role of pastor and preacher while living a simple life. The order would provide the catholic church with expert and zealous preachers who could move from place to place to combat heresy and spread the Gospel wherever it was needed. He received episcopal approval for this new order, and then later papal approval after much delay.
Now that the Order of Preachers was created, a small group that included French, Spanish and English gathered at the religious house in Prouille to begin the work of the order. They adopted the rule of St. Augustine as it seemed most fitting of those rules then in existence and was one of the existing rules from which papal approval allowed. This began the work of the order, and Dominic’s drive and zealousness for preaching and teaching continued taking him to Rome where he created a theology studies program for the Holy See at the request of the pope.
Dominic returned to Prouille and after a short time with his associates charged them to leave in pairs to preach and teach throughout Europe. This began the work in the world of the Dominicans, brothers in the Order of Preachers. To this day the Dominicans continue the work of teaching and preaching around the world.
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