Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic (1170-1221), Spanish founder of the Dominican order of preaching friars. He began preaching to heretics in France in 1203, having been sent there on a mission by Pope Innocent III. His new order was authorized by the pope in 1218 and a female order established in 1221. One of the rules of the order, the rule of poverty, was so strict that the monks were unable to possess houses or lands and were thus forced to be-come beggars. By the time of Dominic’s death, his order had spread throughout Western Europe. He was canonized in 1234.
