The Order of Preachers
The Order of Preachers (in Latin: Ordo Fratrum Prædicatorum – OP), better known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic religious order founded in 1215 through the charism of St. Dominic. Like the Order of Friars Minor (Fratres Minores), it is one of the mendicant orders. The Dominicans follow the Rule of St. Augustine and have their own constitutions. Their mission is to study, to preach and to defend the truth. The Order was born against the background of the Cathar heresy in the 13th century.
Since 1215The motto of the Order is “Veritas” (Truth), but there are others as well: “to hand on to others the fruits of contemplation” (Contemplata aliis tradere), taken up by St. Thomas Aquinas, or “to praise, to bless, to preach”. The Dominicans also have the mission of promoting devotion to the Rosary.
Apostolic religious, not monks
The Dominicans are not monks – that is, cloistered religious living in a monastery – but apostolic religious living in convents. Fraternal life, prayer and study are the foundation of their religious life. Dominican convents are mostly located in large cities, to facilitate the apostolate.
The Priory of St. Stephen in Jerusalem
The Priory of St. Stephen, which is home to the École Biblique, is part of this dynamic in Jerusalem: to be a place of study in the Land of the Bible, to welcome researchers and to serve the Church for a better understanding of Revelation. This in-depth study of the Word in its context is the mission of the “Holy Preaching” of Jerusalem.
The Dominican family today
The Dominican Order, led by the Master of the Order, is made up of friars (6,000), nuns (3,000) and lay Dominicans (100,000). All Dominican superiors are elected for a limited term, renewable once. Among the great figures of the Order are theologians (St. Thomas Aquinas), mystics (St. Catherine of Siena) and defenders of the Indigenous peoples during colonization (Bartolomé de las Casas).
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