Today, August 8, is the memorial of Saint Dominic.
Founder of the Order of Preachers.
Dominic was born in 1170 in Caleruega, Spain and named after St. Dominic of Silos.
He worked for clerical reform and made it his mission to combat heretics, especially the Albigensians.
He got to work with Blessed Peter of Castelnau. He founded the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) in 1215, a group that embraced simplicity and austerity.
The persistent presence of heresies almost discouraged Dominic. Then one day, he was granted a vision from the Virgin Mary who showed him a wreath of roses, representing the Rosary. She told him to say the Rosary daily, teach it to all who would listen, and eventually the true faith would win out.
He died of natural causes at the age of 50 in 1221. He was canonized in 1234 by Pope Gregory IX.