Rome Newsroom, May 24, 2021 / 07:00 am
Pope Francis praised the Dominican charisms of preaching and missionary discipleship in a letter marking the 800th anniversary of the death of the order’s founder, St. Dominic Guzman.
“Together with St. Francis of Assisi, Dominic understood that the proclamation of the Gospel, verbis et exemplo, entailed the building up of the entire ecclesial community in fraternal unity and missionary discipleship,” Pope Francis said in the letter signed on May 24.
“The Dominican charism of preaching overflowed early into the establishment of the varied branches of the larger Dominican family, embracing all the states of life in the Church,” he said.
“In succeeding centuries, it found eloquent expression in the writings of St. Catherine of Siena, the paintings of Blessed Fra Angelico and the charitable works of St. Rose of Lima, Blessed John Macias and St.Margaret of Castello.”
The Dominican Order is currently celebrating a jubilee year in honor of the anniversary of the death of their founder on August 6, 1221.
As a part of the celebration, the order is marking May 24, the anniversary of the Translation of St. Dominic, with great solemnity.
This unusual feast day commemorates the day St. Dominic’s remains were moved, or “translated,” from their original burial spot behind an altar of the church of San Nicolo della Vigne in Bologna, Italy to a more prominent place in the church in 1233.
In his letter, Pope Francis offered further praise for “the outstanding contribution that [the Dominicans] have made to the preaching of the Gospel through theological exploration of the mysteries of the faith.”
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