History of Lay Dominicans

During the Middle Ages, many groups of lay Catholics responded to lax moral conditions and general unhappiness with the state of their world by forming groups dedicated to penance for their own sins and those of the Church. Without the stability and direction that existed for religious orders, these groups sometimes fell into heresy, schism, or disorder.

So that the good impulses of these groups could be directed to the good of the Church, these groups were brought under the authority and patronage of the two great mendicant orders of the 1200’s, the Dominicans and Franciscans.

In the Dominican family, these groups joined the Dominican Friars (the “First Order”) and Dominican cloistered nuns (the “Second Order”) and were called both the “Third Order” and the “Order of Penance.” Our first rule was given in 1285, 70 years after the founding of the Order of Preachers by St. Dominic. This is why you will sometimes see documents with “TOSD” after the name of a Lay Dominican (“Tertia Ordo Sancti Dominici”).

From the earliest days, the Third Order was divided into two groups: those who openly wore a habit, lived in community, and generally carried out a focused apostolate . In the United States, examples might be the Hawthorne Dominicans, who were founded by Nathanial Hawthorne’s daughter Rose and provide hospice care, or the Adrian, Springfield, and Nashville Dominicans, who staff schools. Catherine of Siena was this type of Dominican.

The other group lived ordinary private lives not in community. They did not wear the habit openly, and might or might not have a specific apostolate they tried to carry out. Examples would be St. Rose of Lima, who practiced extraordinary penances on behalf of the Church, or Blessed Pier Giorgio Frasatti, who came from a wealthy family but practiced a life of daily self-denial to give what he had to others.

There is another historical name given to Lay Dominicans, the “Militia of Jesus Christ.” These is because in addition to the penitential groups that were folded into the Dominican Order, there were also a religious group founded by St. Dominic and a military group founded later by Bishop Bartholomew of Vincenza, OP, that also were folded into the Third Order.

In the 20th century, in order to avoid the (mis)understanding that First, Second, and Third Order implied the order of importance of each group, the Dominican Family stopped using those titles provided a clearer distinction between the Third Order sisters who lived in community and the rest of the Order. Thus, today, the Dominican Order is made up of the Friars, Nuns, Apostolic Sisters, and Lay Dominicans.

Lay Dominicans today retain a connection to our roots and continue to serve the Church through penance and charity.