Monday, April 28, 2008

Saint picture quiz 3

The answer to Quiz #2 is St. Dominic; Athanasius got it first. Here's another picture of him with all his stuff: dog with a lighted torch about to set the world on fire (which was the dream his mother had while pregnant with him), lilies for purity, a book in his arm, and the Dominican habit with Rosary-- he's missing the forehead star but he has his Dominican staff.

St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers around 1200. If I recall correctly, the Church was a bit moribund at that time, but the Dominican friars brought about a great revival by traveling on foot from parish to parish, preaching and teaching and combating the Albigensian heresy. I imagine St. Dominic normally looked a bit dustier than portrayed here... and I doubt he ever gathered his attributes around him and struck a pose on a pedestal framed by columns... but I like the painting anyway. :)

When I was at the monastery two weeks ago, the prioress gave me a little medal commemorating the anniversary of the founding of the first convent of Dominican nuns in 1206. Other than the Catholic Church itself, how many institutions can you think of that have lasted at least 800 years?

Okay, moving on to quiz #3. This one's a bit harder.



1 comment:

Andrew Haines said...

Santa Chiara of Assisi.