The Catholic Defender: Saint Dominic of Silo "The Modern Ancient Saint"

In 1000 AD, a young boy named Dominic was born to a humble, peasant family in Canas de Navarre, Spain. In his youth, Dominic worked as a shepherd on his family’s farm. It’s said that while caring for his father’s flocks in the foothills of the Pyrenees, he grew to love silence and solitude.

Dominic was born in eleventh century Spain to a poor family. He grew up doing the work of his father—shepherding—and he came to love the solitude and silence. He left the family and joined a monastery nearby, and grew in holiness and stature. He was eventually elected abbot.

Born in Cañas, La Rioja, to a family of peasants, he worked as a shepherd before becoming a Benedictine monk

Benedictine abbot and defender of the faith. Born in Canas, Navarre, Spain, circa 1000, he entered the Benedictines at San Millan de Ia Cogolla. King Garcia III of Navarre challenged him when he became abbot of the monastery, and Dominic refused to surrender part of the Benedictine lands to the crown.

It’s not the founder of the Dominicans we honor today, but there’s a poignant story that connects both Dominics.

Our saint today, Dominic of Silos, was born in Spain around the year 1000 into a peasant family. As a young boy he spent time in the fields, where he welcomed the solitude.

He became a Benedictine priest and served in numerous leadership positions. Following a dispute with the king over property, Dominic and two other monks were exiled.

A young man, the nephew of Stephen the cardinal of [Fossa Nuova monastery], fell with his horse into a ditch and was killed.Being lifted out, he was laid at the feet of Saint Dominic, who prayed over him and restored him to life.

For this he was exiled, going to King Ferdinand I of Castile and Leon, who made him abbot of St. SebastianAbbey at Silos, now called St. Dominic's. Dominic reformed the abbey, built the cloisters in Romanesque style, and started a scriptorium that became famous throughout the region.

One of the most beloved saints in Spain, Dominic also rescued Christianslaves from the Moors. Dominic's shrine is noted for its place in the birth of Dominic de Guzman, the founder of the Order of Preachers. Dominic de Guzman's mother begged for a child there. Dominic was also noted for miracles of healing.

Miracles were attributed to Dominic in his work—it was said that there was not an illness that could not be cured through his intercession. There is even a story that has been passed down that a group of 300 Christians who were enslaved in north Africa were set free when they prayed in his name.

They established a new monastery in what at first seemed an unpromising location. Under Dominic’s leadership, however, it became one of the most famous houses in Spain. Many healings were reported there.

In 1041, King Ferdinand I of León appointed Dominic Abbot of St. Sebastian at Silos. The monastery, which was founded in 954, was in ruins—with only six monks in residence. So, Dominic did what any saint would do: he rebuilt it.

It became recognized throughout Spain as a hub of prayer, learning, charity, and healing. Dominic was revered as an exorcist and known for miraculously healing every kind of illness. He also helped raise money to ransom Christians imprisoned by the Moors. There were even stories about the captives seeing a bright light, and the prison doors opening by themselves so the prisoners could flee.

Dominic became known for works of healing. The monastery became one of the centers of the Mozarabic liturgy, and also preserved the Visigothic script of ancient Spain. Wealthy patrons endowed the monastery, and Dominic raised funds to ransom Christians taken prisoner by the Moors.

The woman was Joan of Aza, and the son she bore grew up to be the “other” Dominic—Dominic Guzman, the one who founded the Dominicans.

What miracles are attributed to him? He was found several times deep in prayer, almost as if he was conversing directly with God. He called these times his “distractions.” He also returned home under the impression that his mother was sick; when he got there, he discovered that his mother was pregnant and in labor.

For hundreds of years thereafter, the staff used by Saint Dominic of Silos was brought to the royal palace whenever a queen of Spain was in labor. That practice ended in 1931.

By the time he died on December 20, 1073, there were 40 monks living in his monastery, which was eventually named after him.

Dominic died in 1073. Nearly 100 years later he appeared to Blessed Joan of Aza, a woman who was making a pilgrimage to his shrine. In this vision, he promised Joan that she would have a son—soon after, she did, and named her son after the saint who appeared to her. This Dominic is famous for restoring the Church through the establishment of a religious order that continues today: the Order of Preachers.

About 100 years after Dominic’s death, a young woman who experienced difficult pregnancies made a pilgrimage to his tomb. There Dominic of Silos appeared to her and assured her that she would bear another son.

At the Monastery in Silos, Dominic built the cloisters, reformed the monks’ religious life, adjusted their finances, and restored their works of charity. He also established a sizable scriptorium (where ancient books, like the bible, were copied and painted by hand) and carefully protected the Visigothic script of ancient Spain. Not only did Dominic preserve the Mozarabic Rite (one of the Latin Rites in the Church), his monastery was one of the centers of the Mozarabic liturgy.

St. Dominic of Silos is patron saint of prisoners, pregnant women, and shepherds, and his image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.

St. Dominic of Silos, you appeared to the mother of the great St. Dominic to foretell her son’s birth, pray for us!

Miracles were attributed to Dominic in his work—it was said that there was not an illness that could not be cured through his intercession. There is even a story that has been passed down that a group of 300 Christians who were enslaved in north Africa were set free when they prayed in his name.

"Nothing seems tiresome or painful when you are working for a Master who pays well; who rewards even a cup of cold water given for love of Him."

- St. Dominic Savio (1842 - 1857)

For hundreds of years thereafter, the staff used by Saint Dominic of Silos was brought to the royal palace whenever a queen of Spain was in labor. That practice ended in 1931.

There’s another reason you might recognize this 11th-century Dominic. In 1994, a CD titled “Chant” hit the top of the billboards and stayed on the chart for 53 weeks. The monks who made the recording were none other than the Benedictines of Santo Domingo de Silos (St. Dominic of Silos).

He founded a monastery at Prouille. He developed an order based on scholastic and democratic principles, and rules derived from Saint Augustine. His feast day is August 4.