Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/136

 DOMINIC

106

DOMINIC

cfle (regularly of the bride) if the contracting parties have not already sojourned for a month within the parish where they seek to contract marriage ; funerals also belong to the parish priest of the domicile, i. e. if the interested parties desire to, and can transport to his parish church the body of the deceased; in any event the parish priest may demand the parochial dues known as qunrtn juneralis. Generally speaking, transients (peregrini) are not subjects of the local ec- clesiastical authority; they are not held to the ob- servance of local laws except inasmuch as these affect public order, nor do they become subjects of the local judicial authority.

As to the domicile requisite for ordination there are special rules formulated by Innocent XII, in liis Con- stitution "Speculatores", 4 November, 1694. Thecan- didate i jrorders depends upon a bishop, first by reason of his origin, that is to say, of the place where his father had a domicile at the time of his son's birth ; second by reason of his own acquired domicile. But the condi- tions which this domicile must satisfy are rather severe- the candidate must have already resided in the diocese for ten years or else have transported most of his movable goods to a house in which he has resided for three years; moreover, in both cases, he must af- firm under oath his intention of definitively establish- ing himself in the diocese. This is a qualified dom- icile, the conditions of which must not be extended to other cases.

Benedict XIV, Ep. Faucis abhinc; Id., Instit. Can. 33, S8; Sanchez. De matrim.. Ill; Fagnanus, Comment, in Decretal, in cap. Sifpuficavit, III, tit. xxix; Bas.sibey, La clandestinite dajis Ic mariaqe (Bordeaux, 1904); Fourneret, Lp domicile matrimonial (]r*aris, 1906); D'Annibale, Summula TheologicB moraUs (Rome, 190S), I. n. S2-S6; O'Neill in Am. Ecclea. Rev. (Philadelphia, April, 1908).

A. BOUDINHON.

Dominic, Saint, founder of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order; b. at Calaroga, in Old Castile, c. 1170; d. 6 August, 1221. His parents, Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza, un- doubtedly belonged to the nobility of Spain, though probably neither was connected with the reigning house of Castile, as some of the saint's biographers assert. Of Felix Guzman, personally, little is known, except that he was in every sense the worthy head of a family of saints. To nobility of blood Joanna of Aza added a nobility of soul which so enshrined her in the popular veneration that in 1S2S she was solemnly be- atified by Leo XII. The example of such parents was not without its effect upon their children. Not only Saint Dominic but also his brothers, Antonio and Manes, were distinguished for their extraordinarj' sanctity. Antonio, the eldest, became a secular priest and, having distributed his patrimony to the poor, entered a hospital where he spent his life minis- tering to the sick. Manes, following in the footsteps of Dominic, became a Friar Preacher, and was beati- fied by Gregory XVI.

The birth and infancy of the saint were attended by many marvels forecasting his heroic sanctity and great achievements in the cause of religion. From his seventh to his fourteenth year he pursued his elementary studies under the tutelage of his maternal uncle, the arehpriest of Gumiel d'Izan, not far distant from Calaroga. In 1184 Saint Dominic entered the University of Palencia. Here he re- mained for ten years prosecuting his studies with such ardour and success tiiat throughout the ephemeral existence of that institution he was held up to the ad- miration of its scholars as all that a student should be. Amid the frivolities and dissipations of a university city, the life of the future saint was characterized by a seriousness of purpose and an austerity of manner which singled him out as one from whom great things might be expected in the future. But more than once he proved that inider this austere exterior he carried a heart as tender as a woman's. On one occasion he

sold his books, annotated with his own hand, to re- lieve the starving poor of Palencia. His biographer and contemporary, Bartholomew of Trent, states that twice he tried to sell himself into slavery to obtain money for the liberation of those who were held in captivity by the Moors. These facts are worthy of mention in view of the cruel and saturnine character which some non-Catholic writers have endeavoured to foist upon one of the most charitable of men. Con- cerning the date of his ordination his biographers are silent; nor is there anything from which that date can be inferred with any degree of certainty. According to the deposition of Brother Stephen, Prior Provincial of Lombardy, given in the process of canonization, Dominic was still a student at Palencia when Don Martin de Bazan, the Bishop of Osma, called him to membership in the cathedral chapter for the purpose of assisting in its reform. The bishop realized the im- portance to his plan of reform of having constantly before his canons the example of one of Dominic's eminent holiness. Nor was he disappointed in the result. In recognition of the part he had taken in converting its members into canons regular, Dominic was appointed sub-prior of the reformed chapter. On the accession of Don Diego d'Azevedo to the Bishopric of Osma in 1201, Dominic became superior of the chap- ter with the title of prior. As a canon of Osma, he spent nine years of his life hidden in God and rapt in contemplation, scarcely passing beyond the confines of the chapter house.

In 1203 ."Vlfonso IX, King of Castile, deputed the Bishop of Osma to demand from the Lord of the Marches, presiuuably a Danish prince, the hand of his daughter on behalf of the king's son. Prince Ferdi- nand. For his companion on this embassy Don Diego chose Saint Dominic. Passing through Toulouse in the pursuit of their mission, they beheld with amaze- ment and sorrow the work of spiritual ruin wrought by the Albigensian heresy. It was in the contemplation of this scene that Dominic first conceived the idea of founding an order for the purpose of combating heresy and spreading the light of the Gospel by preaching to the ends of the then known world. Their mission hav- ing ended successfully, Diego and Dominic were dis- patched on a second emba.ssy, accompanied by a splendid retinue, to escort the betrothed princess to Castile. This mission, however, was brought to a sudden close by the death of the young woman in question. The two ecclesiastics were now free to go where they would, and they set out for Rome, arriving there towards the end of 1204. The purpose of this journey was to enable Diego to resign his bishopric that he might devote himself to the conversion of un- believers in distant lands. Innocent III, however, refused to approve this project, and instead sent the bishop and his companion to Languedoc to join forces with the Cistercians, to whom he had entrusted the crusade against the .\lbigenses The scene that con- fronted them on their arrival in Languedoc was by no means an encouraging one. The Cistercians, on ac- count of their worldly manner of living, had made little or no headway against the AIbigen.ses. They had entered upon their work with considerable pomp, attended by a brilliant retinue, and well provided with the comforts of life. To this display of worldliness the leaders of the heretics opposed a rigid asceticism which commanded the respect and admiration of their followers. Diego and Dominic quickly saw that the failure of the Cistercian apostolate was due to the monks' indulgent habits, and finally prevailed upon them to adopt a more austere manner of life. The result was at once apparent in a greatly increased number of converts. Theological disputations played a prominent part in the propaganda of the heretics. Dominic and his companion, therefore, lost no time in engaging their opponents in this kind of theological exposition. Whenever the opportunity