Founded in 1216, the Dominican Order is celebrating its eighth centenary. Today, as at the very beginning of this daring missionary adventure initiated by Saint Dominic de Guzman, our zeal is founded on our passion to open up to men and women paths of life, truth and freedom, throughout the word.
It has been the vocation of the Order of Preachers from the outset to work for the “salvation of souls” through preaching and to proclaim the Gospel.
After eight hundred years, this inspiration is still capable of arousing a fervent desire to join in the adventure he began.
What characterizes Dominic’s powerful spiritual experience and holiness is a passionate desire to give himself entirely to the salvation of mankind, as Christ himself did.
It is Christ who is at the center of his vocation and that which he bequeaths to his Order.
From the mystery of this love for the world has sprung a religious community whose genius, its gift for organization, its attentiveness to the signs of the times and its sense of the Church have made it a flexible, living organism.
Since their foundation, the Dominicans (friars, priests, nuns, sisters and laity) have been proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
This mission is realized through community life, prayer, study, preaching, teaching, parish and university ministry, commitment to justice and peace, publishing, the mass media and the arts.
In this third millennium, the urgency of mission is as relevant as ever. More than ever, our contemporaries need to hear the liberating message of Jesus Christ. That’s why the Dominicans are always in need of men and women with a passion for the Gospel, because Christ is constantly calling new disciples in the manner of Saint Dominic.
