SAINT DOMENIC CONFESSOR

St. Dominic was the founder of the Dominican Order of Preaching Friars. A short time before he was born his mother (Blessed Joan of Aza) dreamed that she had brought forth a black and white dog carrying a lighted torch in its mouth. Then, when his godmother held him in her arms at the font, she beheld a star of extraordinary magnitude descend from heaven and settle on his brow. These portents gave rise to the belief that the infant was destined to shed a lustre upon the world. His family were quite wealthy and had a good standing in the community. Dominic was educated at the schools of Palencia and then attended university studying theology. He was an extremely pious man who gave away all of his possessions in an effort to relieve the suffering following a great Spanish famine in 1191. He preached strict reforms of religious establishments and eventually founded the Dominican Order of Preaching Friars. He denied himself any of life comforts and died on 6 August 1221.