The Order of Preachers is a Christian religious order, and spiritual tradition founded by Saint Dominic de Guzman in the 13th century with roots in earlier monastic traditions, dating back to the earliest periods of Christianity. It was not until the last years of the 20th century that an expression of Dominican spirituality and life could be found outside of the Roman Catholic Church.
The mission of the order is the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is done for the recovery of souls and the strengthening of the Church. The friars and sisters surrender their entire lives to a missionary lifestyle dedicated to God. This lifestyle is lived out in the ordinary challenges of life, so that all people in all places can hear the Gospel.
The community is scattered with friars and sisters living across the world. Friars and sisters live by themselves, with their families, or in small groups. They support themselves and the order by their ministry work: either within the institutional church or in the secular marketplace representing the Body of Christ. Friars and sisters may take vows of marriage, or vows of celibacy. In everything members are encouraged by the words of St. Dominic to only "speak with God, or about God."
