22/12/2024
22 DECEMBER 2022 - Eight hundred and six years ago, the Ordo Praedicatorum (Order of Preachers, also called the Dominicans) received Papal confirmation of its foundation from the hands of Pope Honorius III. Our Holy Father Dominic received it himself.
Earlier, St Dominic began a preaching band of brothers dedicated to combatting heresy in France. This was done so with prior permission from the local bishop; thus, they operated within the jurisdiction of the said ordinary. On December 22, 1216, Pope Honorius III confirmed the founding of the new Order, clothed it with personality under ecclesiastical law, granted it rights and privileges, and recommended it to all the bishops of the world.
At the time, it was a revolutionary move to found a mendicant (not monastic) Order of brothers that is dedicated to preaching the truths of the Catholic faith. After all, preaching is, properly, the office of bishops.
After study and other preparations, St Dominic quickly sent his Friars Preachers all over Europe, setting hearts ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit and Truth. He himself tirelessly labored for the salvation of souls. He governed the new Order for only a few years, as he was called to receive his eternal reward in 1221.
The history of the Order spans eight centuries and it is, without a doubt, embedded with glories and achievements, and countless tangible and intangible monuments to its time-tested longevity. We are sure, however, that there is no greater honor, no higher glory, and no shinier crown of victory for the Dominican Order than the soul of a sinner who enters the kingdom because of its preaching of grace and mercy.
St Dominic, preacher of grace, pray for us.
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