Happy Feast of St. Dominic!

Nearly 800 years ago, Dominic de Guzman founded a monastic community near Carcassonne, France, as a refuge for women who had gotten caught up in the rather unfortunate heresy known as Albigensianism. It occurred to him that to combat the Albigensians, a new sort of monastic order was required. In 1217 he received approval from Pope Honorius III to form the Order of Friars Preachers, who, in addition to taking the traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, dedicated themselves to the art of preaching. Dominic and his followers were responsible for the conversion of a large number of Albigensians, which is good, because one of their hobbies was ritual suicide.

Today, there are about 4,500 Dominican priests, and roughly zero Albigensians.

Recognizing the magnitude of Dominic's accomplishments, Pope Gregory IX canonized Saint Dominic in 1234.