 From the founding of the Dominican Order in 1216, skilled, professional, and holy men have been called to put their training and gifts to use for the mission of preaching. Why are cooperator brothers essential to the Dominican charism?
Read Part I of II here.  In 1216, St Dominic founded the Order of Preachers to preach for the salvation of souls. To carry out the mission, Dominic created an Order composed of various components. He first organized the contemplative nuns, next the friars. Shortly thereafter, lay people began to embrace the charism and mission of the Order.
Groups of women also contributed as consecrated religious to the holy preaching in a wide variety of apostolic ways. From the beginning, St Dominic founded a non-ordained presence among the friars. For centuries they were called lay brothers or conversi. Since 1958, the non-ordained friars have been called cooperator brothers. Much has been discussed about the decline in vocations to the religious life. In the West – the United States, Canada, and Western Europe – the problem is even more acute  On the third weekend of February, we Dominican Friars at St. Dominic Priory hosted more than 30 men discerning religious life for a vocations weekend. The weekend gave me some reminders about our life; here are a few thoughts.
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Dominican Friars of St. Louis, MOThe Dominican Friars living at St. Dominic Priory in St. Louis, MO are members of both the Central U.S. Province and the Southern U.S. Province. Our student friars go through their formation together at the St. Louis Studium, otherwise known as the House of Studies. Archives
January 2020
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