Lay Dominicans of Miami
Seeking Truth. Living the Gospel. Preaching with Our Lives.
We are the San Juan Macias Lay Dominicans Group of Miami! We are Catholic men and women who seek to follow Christ in the spirit of St. Dominic. Through prayer, study, community, and preaching, we strive to live the Gospel in our families, parishes, workplaces, friendships, and daily life.
Welcome to Our Website
We are part of the Dominican Family, a worldwide spiritual family within the Catholic Church inspired by St. Dominic de Guzman and dedicated to preaching the Gospel for the salvation of souls. As lay members of the Order of Preachers, we do not leave the world behind. We live our Dominican vocation in the world - in family life, professional life, parish life, friendship, service, and witness.
We come together for prayer, formation, fraternity, and mission. We gather to seek truth, grow in holiness, deepen our Catholic faith, and encourage one another to preach Christ by word, action, mercy, and example.
Who Are the Dominicans?
The Dominicans, officially known as the Order of Preachers, is a religious order in the Catholic Church founded by St. Dominic in the thirteenth century. The Order was established for preaching, evangelical life, study, and the salvation of souls. Dominicans are often recognized by the initials O.P., which stand for Ordo Praedicatorum, meaning Order of Preachers.
The Dominican Family includes friars, contemplative nuns, apostolic sisters, lay fraternities, priestly fraternities, youth movements, and many collaborators. Each branch lives the same Dominican spirit in a distinct way, but all share the mission of proclaiming Christ, seeking truth, and handing on the fruits of contemplation.
A Brief History of the Dominican Order
St. Dominic founded the Order of Preachers in response to the Church's need for preachers whose lives were rooted in prayer, study, poverty, community, and apostolic mission. In 1206, before the Order was formally approved, St. Dominic established a monastery of contemplative nuns at Prouilhe in southern France. This first foundation reminds us that Dominican preaching is born from contemplation.
In 1216, Pope Honorius III confirmed the new community as the Order of Preachers. The following year, St. Dominic sent his small group of friars to important centers of learning and preaching, including Paris, Bologna, and Spain. From the beginning, the Dominican mission was not meant to remain hidden in one place, but to serve the whole Church.
The Order grew quickly. Its early General Chapters gave structure to Dominican life, forming a community centered on prayer, study, common life, and preaching. After St. Dominic's death in 1221, the Order expanded across Europe and into the great universities. Saints and scholars such as St. Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas helped shape the Dominican intellectual tradition, showing that the search for truth is a path of love and service to God.
The Dominican Family also includes a rich lay tradition. In the thirteenth century, lay men and women began to live the spirit of St. Dominic in the world, eventually receiving a formal Rule. Great lay Dominicans such as St. Catherine of Siena witnessed that holiness, contemplation, and preaching are not limited to religious life, but can be lived powerfully in ordinary circumstances.
Across the centuries, Dominicans have preached, taught, defended human dignity, served the poor, promoted the Rosary, formed consciences, contributed to theology, and carried the Gospel to many nations. Today, as Lay Dominicans in Miami, we share in this same tradition: seeking Truth, contemplating Christ, living in fraternity, and handing on to others the fruits of what we have received.
Invitation
Are you interested in learning more about Lay Dominican life? You do not need to know everything before reaching out. If you are a Catholic who desires a deeper life of prayer, study, fraternity, and mission, we invite you to contact us and begin a conversation.