St. Dominic Preaching (BEN 002) Notebook

St. Dominic de Guzman (1170-1221) was a Castilian Spanish priest who founded the mendicant Order of Preachers (Dominicans). + Arm upraised with his finger pointing to heaven, St. Dominic is depicted here preaching. He is tonsured and is clad in the habit of his order—a belted cream-colored robe and cream-colored scapular under a black hooded mantle. A rosary hangs from his belt. With his left hand, he holds a spray of lilies of purity and an open book. The pages of the book bear the words “Aut pro Deo; Aut de Deo”, that is, “Either for God or about God”. According to the testimony of Brother Paul of Venice, a priest of the Order of Preachers, at the canonization hearing of St. Dominic at Bologna in August, 1233, the founder always spoke to God or about Him. So near and dear to his heart were these practices that St. Dominic recommended them to his brethren. They were also adopted in Article 31 of the Primitive Constitutions of the Order of Preachers. + Feast: August 8 + Image Credit (BEN 002): Figure of St. Dominic extracted from an antique Swiss devotional print originally published in chromolithography by Benziger, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, late 19th century, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.