following the rule of Saint Augustine. His life changed radically when he accompanied Diego de Acebo, the Bishop of Osma, on a diplomatic mission for Alfonso VIII, King of Castile, to secure a bride in Denmark for crown prince Ferdinand. While traveling, they encountered widespread heretical movements (especially Catharism) in southern France that led many souls away from the Catholic faith. This led to a radical change in Dominic, who sought thereafter to found an order of priests who would combat heresy through preaching and education, combining the contemplative life of the monastery with academic study in a way that imitated the poverty, chastity, and apostolic zeal of the first apostles. They would study the Scriptures and theology in order to be able to counter opponents of the faith, but also educate the clergy and the people so as to understand their faith better.

His order, founded in 1216 and approved by Pope Honorius III in 1216 and 1217 was named the Order of Preachers and immediately began to grow. The friars were sent to all the major universities of Europe and became well-known both for their deep theological wisdom and for their apostolic zeal in preaching. Representatives of the Order are as diverse as St. Thomas Aquinas, the great theologian, to St. Martin de Porres, the humble lay brother and porter, to St. Catherine of Siena, a lay Dominican woman who experienced mystical union with Christ in the midst of her prayers for the Church and priests. Their goal of preaching and the salvation of souls remains highly urgent in today’s world. Professed members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Dominic follow Dominic’s way in the Order of Preachers through ministry in the diocesan priesthood.