St. Dominic
Patron Saint of Astronomers
St. Dominic was a Castilian priest who lived in the twelfth century. St. Dominic’s parents were members of the Spanish nobility and related to the ruling family. Educated in theology and the arts in Palencia, Spain, St. Dominic joined the Benedictine order after six years of study. During a journey through France with his bishop, St. Dominic learned of the Albigensian heresy and sensed that the Church needed to combat it through a preaching crusade. It was from this preaching crusade that St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans.