The Lives of the Saints through 100 Masterpieces

Dominic

The Lives of the Saints 82 Dominic August 8 It seems that to make a mark in church history, reformers must also be powerful miracle workers. This was the case with the founder of the Dominican Order, the friars preachers who fought against the Albigensian heresy—by persuasion and, when necessary, by the inquisition . Dominic de Guzmán, born in Castille in 1170, complemented his indefatigable apostolate with numerous miracles. At baptism, his godmother noticed a shining star on his forehead, shedding its light on the whole world. When he began to preach in the area of Toulouse, the heretics realized, to their consternation, that his writings could not be destroyed by fire The order of Friars Preachers was officiall sanctioned by the pope after a dream. In it he saw the Lateran Basilica, which was threatening to collapse in ruins, sustained upon Dominic’s shoulders. Subsequently, Dominic brought back to life the nephew of a cardinal, who had died after falling from his horse, and an architect, who had been crushed by a wall in the crypt of the Church of Saint Sixtus. One day, observing the execution of a group of heretics, he commanded the executioner to spare a man named Raymond, saying to him, “I know that some day, but not soon, you will be a saint.” Raymond lived another 20 years in heresy, after which he converted and joined the Order of Preachers. Of all the miracles wrought by Saint Dominic, the one that most captured the imagination of artists was his rescue of a group of pilgrims en route to Compostela, whose boat had sunk in the Garonne River. Lluis Borrassa (active 1396–1424) Saint Dominic Rescuing the Pilgrims from the Garonne River Abbey of Saint Clare, Barcelona ...