St. Dominic

Feast Day: August 8th
Patron of: Astronomers

While pregnant with Dominic, Blessed Jane of Aza had a dream of a dog with a torch in
its mouth, setting everything on fire. When she asked a monk what it meant, he said
the child in her womb would be “a great preacher who would set the world ablaze
with the fire of his words.” His parents named him Dominic, a play on the words
Domini canis, meaning “the Lord's dog” in Latin. Dominic did go on to be an influential
preacher and evangelist. In an effort to educate and protect people from hostile
heretics of the time, he established what became the first Dominican house in 1206.
Later, through an apparition of the Virgin Mary, Dominic received the devotion of the
Rosary. To this day, preaching and study are the dominant works of Dominican orders.