St Dominic

Statue of St Dominic in his church at Valletta, Malta

St Dominic was born on August 8 1170 in Calaruega, Spain. Dominic's parents are named Felix Guzman and Joan of Aza. The story is told that before his birth his barren mother made a pilgrimage to the Abbey of Santo Domingo dos Silos, and dreamed that a dog leapt from her womb carrying a torch in its mouth, and "seemed to set the earth on fire". This story drew resonance from the fact that his order became known, after his name, as the Dominican order, Domini canus in Latin which a play on words interpreted as Domini canis: "Dog of the Lord." At Dominic’s baptism, his mother saw a star shining from his chest, which became another of his symbols in art, and led to his patronage of astronomy.

Beautiful painting of St Dominic by Giuseppe Cali in his church at Valletta.

He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Palencia. He was a Canon of the Cathedral of Osma, Spain and joined the Augustinians at first. Dominic had a lifelong apostolate among heretics, especially the Albigensians, and especially in France. He founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215, a group who live a simple, austere life, and an order of nuns dedicated to the care of young girls. Dominic’s ideal, and that of his Order, was to organically link a life with God, study, and prayer in all forms, with a ministry of salvation to people by the word of God. His ideal: contemplata tradere: “to pass on the fruits of contemplation” or “to speak only of God or with God.” St Dominic died on August 6, 1221 in Bologna, Italy. His holiness was such that he was canonized only 13 years after his death, on July 13, 1234, by Pope Gregory IX.

Statue being taken out in procession from his church.

The spread of the Rosary, a popular Marian devotion, is attributed to the preaching of Saint Dominic. The Rosary has for centuries been at the heart of the Dominican Order. The feast of Saint Dominic is celebrated with great pomp and devotion in Malta, in the old city of Birgu and the capital city Valletta. The Dominican order has very strong links with Malta and Pope Pius V, a Dominican friar himself, aided the Knights of St. John to build the city of Valletta.