The Order of Preachers | Celebrating 1216 founding

The Order of Preachers, known as the Dominicans, is celebrating the 800th anniversary of its founding in 1216 by St. Dominic. The order is dedicated to the proclamation of the Word of God for the salvation of souls. The Dominican way of life consists of vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and attends to study as the basis for preaching. Dominican friars live in community, gathering daily for common prayer. There are more than 6,000 Dominican friars worldwide who wear traditional white habits and carry on the traditions of this order. The mission is “To Praise, to Bless, to Preach.”

In the Valley: Dominicans assigned to St. Dominic Church, 77 E. Lucius Ave., Youngstown, are the Revs. Greg Maturi, Bernard Timothy, Regis Heuschkel, William Rock and Bernard Dupont. Combined, they represent 192 years in the priesthood. The Youngstown parish provides devotions, groups and faith formation opportunities. Every summer, seminarians from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., spend time in pastoral activities. Parish projects include a redesigned website (www.saintdominic.org), a Facebook page, the re-opening of the parish library and parish center, which is a venue for many church and neighborhood events.

Celebrations: The Dominican liturgical tradition will be highlighted in three special Masses planned. A lesson will be at 6:30 p.m. followed by Mass at 7:15 p.m. A low Mass will be Friday; sung Mass on July 22; and solemn High Mass on Aug. 19.

Founder: St. Dominic (1170- 1221) was born in Caleruega, Spain. While a student, he gave away all his possessions to help people in his native land who were suffering from a famine. News of his virtues reached the Bishop of Osma, Spain, who summoned Dominic and made him a member of a religious community, Canons Regular, who wore the white robes for which the Dominicans are known today. St. Dominic gathered women converts from the Albigensian heresy at Prouilhe, France, in 1206. Forming them into a community of prayer and penance, he founded monasteries in San Sisto, Rome, Bologna and throughout Europe. Dominic planned to begin a new religious order of mendicant preachers, who would travel from city to city rather than stay in a monastery. Pope Honorius III established the new order of friars in 1216. The new order was successful in conversion work as it applied Dominic’s concept of harmonizing the intellectual life with popular needs.

Notable Dominicans: St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the intellectual giants in history, joined the Dominicans in 1244. His writings, including the Summa Theologiae, provide a synthesis of Catholic theology and philosophy. He was canonized in 1323. The writings, teachings and holiness of St. Catherine of Siena, St. Martin de Porres, St. Louis de Montfort, St. Rose of Lima, St. Albert the Great, St. Margaret of Hungary, St. Vincent Ferrer, Pope St. Pius V, Blessed Margaret of Castello and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati have impacted the church since 1216.

In America: Dominicans came to the Americas not long after Christopher Columbus. A defender of the indigenous peoples of the Americas was Dominican priest Bartolom de las Casas, who served in what is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Las Casas is often seen as one of the first advocates for universal human rights. Edward Fenwick, Ohio’s first priest, also was the first Dominican in the United States. He was born in Maryland and went to Europe for his seminary education. He asked for permission to be a missionary to his native land and returned to the United States. In 1808, Fenwick was sent to Ohio by Bishop James Carroll. Somerset, Ohio, became his base for missionary journeys. In 1817, he said the first Catholic Mass in Columbiana County, Ohio. In 1818, Father Fenwick established St. Joseph Parish in Somerset, the state’s oldest Catholic church. In 1821, he was named bishop of Cincinnati.

Provinces: There are Eastern, Southern, Central and Western provinces. The Eastern Province of St. Joseph consists of 13 states in the northeast U.S., including Ohio. The friars operate Providence College in Rhode Island and the House of Studies grants Pontifical Degrees through the Pontifical of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The province’s almost 300 members engage in parish ministry, foreign missions, campus ministry, retreat work, and education. Projects include Blackfriar Films, Magnificat magazine, Domincana Records and the Thomistic Institute.

In Ohio: Dominican parishes are located in Somerset, Columbus, Cincinnati, Zanesville and Youngstown. The novitiate for the St. Joseph Province is in Cincinnati. Dominican sisters teach and preach throughout the state, including Ohio Dominican University in Columbus. Dominican laity or “Third Order Dominicans,” provide support to the order.

Source: Ellen Finan, St. Dominic Church librarian