Fenwick, Edward Dominic, 1768-1832, American Roman Catholic prelate, first bishop of Cincinnati (1822-32), b. St. Marys co., Md. He was educated in Belgium, joined the Dominicans (1790), and was ordained (1793). After a short imprisonment by the French republicans he went to England and taught at a new Dominican college in Surrey. In 1804 he returned to the United States and set out for a Western mission. He set up the convent of St. Rose of Lima, the first Dominican house in the United States, near Springfield, Ky. He was an itinerant missionary in Kentucky and Ohio. His chief center became Cincinnati, of which he was made bishop (1822). In 1831 he founded there the Athenaeum, now Xavier Univ.

Dominic, Saint, 1170?-1221, Castilian churchman, named Domingo de Guzmán, founder of the Dominicans. He studied at Palencia and became a canon, then prior of canons, of the cathedral of Osma. He and his bishop went (c.1203) to Rome seeking permission to evangelize the Tatars; instead, Pope Innocent III sent them to S France to preach to the Albigenses. Adopting absolute poverty, they wandered about Languedoc preaching and were the first Catholic missionaries to have success there. St. Dominic started a community for women converts at Prouille in 1206. In 1216 he was given a house and church at Toulouse for his band of preachers, now numbering 16. The same year he went to Rome and received from Pope Honorius III approval of his plans for the new order. The order, with its novel vocation to study and preaching, grew phenomenally. An ancient tradition, often pictured, tells how the saint received the rosary from the Virgin Mary in a vision. It is also told that St. Dominic and St. Francis met and became friends in Rome, establishing a close tie between Franciscans and Dominicans that has continued to the present. Feast: Aug. 4.

orig. Domingo de Guzmán

(born 1170, Caleruega, Castile—died Aug. 6, 1221, Bologna, Romagna; canonized July 3, 1234; feast day August 8) Founder of the Order of Friars Preachers, or Dominicans. He joined the religious community of the cathedral of Osma circa 1196. On a visit to southern France in 1203, he encountered the Albigensian heresy (see Cathari) and determined to fight it. He gathered a group of preachers willing to travel the roads barefoot and in poverty, and in 1206 he founded a convent of nuns converted from heresy. While designing his order devoted to preaching, Dominic may first have met St. Francis of Assisi, who became his good friend. In 1216 he received sanction for his order from Pope Honorius III. He established schools of theology at his two principal houses near the Universities of Paris and Bologna.

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orig. Domingo de Guzmán

(born 1170, Caleruega, Castile—died Aug. 6, 1221, Bologna, Romagna; canonized July 3, 1234; feast day August 8) Founder of the Order of Friars Preachers, or Dominicans. He joined the religious community of the cathedral of Osma circa 1196. On a visit to southern France in 1203, he encountered the Albigensian heresy (see Cathari) and determined to fight it. He gathered a group of preachers willing to travel the roads barefoot and in poverty, and in 1206 he founded a convent of nuns converted from heresy. While designing his order devoted to preaching, Dominic may first have met St. Francis of Assisi, who became his good friend. In 1216 he received sanction for his order from Pope Honorius III. He established schools of theology at his two principal houses near the Universities of Paris and Bologna.

Learn more about Dominic, Saint with a free trial on Britannica.com.