While pregnant, St. Dominic’s mother had a dream of a dog with a torch in its mouth, setting everything on fire. A monk told her the child would be “a great preacher and set the world ablaze with fire of his words.” His name is a play on the words Domini canis, meaning “the Lord’s dog” in Latin. 

Eventually founding the Dominican order, St. Dominic was an influential preacher and evangelist. Through an apparition of the Virgin Mary, he received the form of the Rosary we pray today.  To this day, preaching & study are the dominant work of Dominican orders.