Dominicans

The Order of Friars Preachers is a mendicant Order born in Languedoc (now south-west France) in the thirteenth century. Its members are commonly known as the Dominicans in honour of the founder, the Spaniard Dominic de Guzmán. The original and primary purpose of the Order was to combat the spread of the Cathar heresy and promote a return to spirituality and way of life of the early Church, not unlike what was proposed by the Franciscan Order, founded in those same years, by Saint Francis of Assisi. To the obligation of poverty and mendicancy the Dominicans added the need for a solid cultural preparation for their work of preaching and the fight against heresy. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the Dominican convents became great centres of biblical and theological studies and that some of the greatest thinkers of the last phase of the Middle Ages, such as Thomas Aquinas, were members of the Order. During the Early Modern period, the Dominicans continued to play a leading role in preaching, teaching, and in missionary activity, although they were joined by a growing number of Orders which were founded following the spread of the Lutheran doctrines.