WHERE WE SERVE
AS THE ORDER OF PREACHERS,
our central concern is that of well-informed preaching of the Good News of Jesus Christ for our day. The Order has been inviting men and women to consider again the truth of the Gospel and its application for their lives. We help raise up disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ through the Word proclaimed and the ministry of grace. Everything that a friar does is directed toward his preaching. Jesus is the Word we speak, the life we live, the prayer we pray, the texts we study, and the people with whom we minister.
Throughout the Central Province, Dominicans find and name Christ’s grace in our parishes, ministering and preaching among God’s people. We name the grace of Christ in our institutions of education where it is taught and proclaimed. Below is only a handful of the places and the ways in which we serve, but there is no set path, and we are found in several other ministerial settings as well.
CAMPUS MINISTRY
Dominicans have been involved in campus ministry for 800 years! When St. Dominic had only twelve friars, he sent them out to the six great universities of Europe. Despite the doubts of others, Dominic followed the Gospel admonition and sent his men out to preach the good news.
Purdue University
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center at Purdue University engages the youthful energy of all its members to nurture their faith journey through liturgy, stewardship, and spiritual and intellectual formation. They joyfully welcome all who wish to meet life’s challenges through lived faith in Jesus Christ.
Hope College
The Saint Benedict Institute at Hope College seeks to promote intellectual work done from the heart of the Catholic Church and fosters an ecumenical community of Catholic friends committed to the renewal of culture. St. Benedict's aids in the formation of intellectually and spiritually mature Christians by making the riches of the Catholic tradition available to the entire student body.
Indiana University
St. Paul Catholic Center serves as the Newman Center and Catholic parish for the Indiana University community. They work to build up a community of missionary disciples who are on fire with Christ's love. They do this through celebration of the Sacraments, evangelization, small groups, social events, retreats, and service opportunites.
Aquinas College
Campus ministry at Aquinas College strives to animate the Roman Catholic Christian identity of the Aquinas College community--rooted in the Dominican pillars of community, prayer, study, and preaching--all for the sake of veritas (the truth of God’s mercy and love).
University of Chicago
For over 80 years, Calvert House has been a catholic home for the University of Chicago. Its mission is to bring the secular university deeper into relationship with Christ and the Universal Church. The question asked at Calvert House is not "What do you know?", but rather, "How is your relationship with God?"
EDUCATION
From the beginning of the Order, Dominicans have committed themselves to education. St. Dominic himself sent his brothers to university centers both to teach and to learn. Study was an important component in the life of the brethren. The preachers understood their ministry to involve the proclamation of the Gospel and the education of others in the truths of the Catholic faith. The Province of St. Albert the Great continues this tradition by teaching in high schools, colleges, and universities.
Aquinas Institute of Theology
The Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Dominican graduate school focused on educating men and women to preach, teach, minister, and lead. Aquinas offers Master's degrees and certificates in theology and ministry, and it is the only Catholic institution in the world that offers a Doctorate in preaching. It is in close proximity to St. Dominic Priory, where Dominican student brothers from the central and southern provinces live while taking classes from the Institute.
Fenwick High School
Founded by the Dominicans in 1929, Fenwick High School serves students from Chicago and over 60 suburban communities. Fenwick students, guided by faith and reason, are a community of scholars, athletes, artists, and leaders, devoted to lives of virtue, service, learning, and truth as disciples in the Dominican Catholic tradition.
PARISHES
People who come to Dominican parishes benefit from excellent preaching with an emphasis on evangelization and social justice. The Dominicans themselves are benefitted by keeping rooted to the local church, connected to its heart at the parish level and providing a base community from which to go out into the world.
St. Dominic Parish
St. Dominic Parish is a Catholic Christian community in Denver, Colorado, rooted in the Dominican tradition and called to preach the Word of God. From its earliest days, this Dominican parish has been a neighborhood church that serves immigrants living in and around the surrounding area.
St. Pius V
Located in the Pilsen neighborhood on Chicago’s near southwest side, St. Pius V is a multicultural faith community united by a desire to bring the Gospel of Jesus to life in the neighborhood, city, and world. The Dominican Shrine of St. Jude is also located in the Church.
St. Patrick St. Hedwig
St. Patrick Parish and St. Hedwig Parish, founded by Irish and Polish immigrants, respectively, were combined as one parish with two historic churches on August 22nd, 2024. St. Patrick St. Hedwig Parish sits on the western edge of downtown South Bend, Indiana in the West Washington National Historic District. As a community, the parish seeks to proclaim the Gospel and to celebrate the Eucharist in order to strengthen resolve and to seek to live the Gospel message.
St. Albert the Great Parish
St. Albert the Great Parish in Minneapolis, Minnesota values its inner-city character and global vision. It desires to grow through mutual concern and outreach. As a community of faith-filled Catholic Christians, members of St. Albert the Great Parish recognize their baptismal call to be advocates of social justice and peace, seekers of wisdom, and servants of common good.
St. Vincent Ferrer
St. Vincent Ferrer has served River Forest, Illinois for over 75 years. As a parish operated by Dominican Friars, St. Vincent Ferrer aims to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ through dedication to the Sacraments, reverent liturgical celebration, and spiritual and intellectual formation for its members.
Parroquia Invención
de la Santa Cruz
Founded in 1774, this parish was entrusted to the Dutch Dominicans in 1904. It is considered an inner-city parish serving a diverse population that commutes daily to Bayamon, Puerto Rico. This church has served generations of Catholic families in and around the city while maintaining a strong ministry and dedication to offering the Sacraments.
Santísimo Rosario
Most Holy Rosary Parish is a vast community with a main church in downtown Yauco, a parochial school and eleven chapels spread around the southern-western rural part of the Island. Founded in 1756 and staffed by Dominicans since 1904, this parish serves a large portion of the families living in the rural parts of Puerto Rico. Since January 2020, this parish has struggled to repair the damages caused by the earthquake.