![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/Seal_of_the_Dominican_Order.svg/640px-Seal_of_the_Dominican_Order.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
Dominican Order
Catholic religious order / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Ordo Praedicatorum?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Order of Preachers (Latin: Ordo Prædicatorum; abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius III via the papal bull Religiosam vitam on 22 December 1216. Members of the order, who are referred to as Dominicans, generally display the letters OP after their names, standing for Ordinis Praedicatorum, meaning 'of the Order of Preachers'. Membership in the order includes friars,[lower-alpha 2] nuns, active sisters, and lay or secular Dominicans (formerly known as tertiaries). More recently, there have been a growing number of associates of the religious sisters who are unrelated to the tertiaries.
Ordo Prædicatorum | |
![]() Coat of arms of the order | |
Abbreviation | OP |
---|---|
Formation |
|
Founder | Dominic de Guzmán |
Founded at | |
Headquarters | Convento Santa Sabina, Piazza Pietro d'Illiria 1, Rome, Italy[1] |
Membership (2020) | 5,545 members (includes 4,147 priests)[1] |
Master of the Order | Fr. Gerard Timoner III, OP |
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
Website | op |
Motto: Laudare, benedicere, praedicare ('To praise, to bless, to preach')Patron Saints: |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/The_Perugia_Altarpiece%2C_Side_Panel_Depicting_St._Dominic.jpg/640px-The_Perugia_Altarpiece%2C_Side_Panel_Depicting_St._Dominic.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Figur_Alte_Uni_Marburg.jpg/640px-Figur_Alte_Uni_Marburg.jpg)
Founded to preach the gospel and to oppose heresy, the teaching activity of the order and its scholastic organisation placed it at the forefront of the intellectual life of the Middle Ages.[3] The order is famed for its intellectual tradition and for having produced many leading theologians and philosophers.[4] In 2018, there were 5,747 Dominican friars, including 4,299 priests.[1] The order is headed by the master of the order who, as of 2022[update], is Gerard Timoner III.[5] Mary Magdalene and Catherine of Siena are the co-patronesses of the order.