Saint Dominic

(1170 - 1221) Canonized July 13, 1234 by Pope Gregory IX

He received a vision from Our Lady who showed him a wreath of roses, representing the rosary. She told him to say the rosary daily, teach it to all who would listen, and eventually the true faith would win out. Dominic is often credited with the invention of the rosary; it actually pre-dates him, but he certainly spread devotion to it, and used it to strengthen his own spiritual life. 

He founded the Orders of Friars Preachers (The Dominicans) in 1215, a group who live a simple, austere life.  A number of times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty.

Legend says that Dominic received a vision of a beggar who, like Dominic, would do great things for the Faith. Dominic met the beggar the next day. He embraced him and said, "You are my companion and must walk with me. If we hold together, no earthly power can withstand us." The beggar was Saint Francis of Assisi.

While his mother was pregnant with Dominic, she had a vision that her unborn child was a dog who would set the world on fire with a torch it carried in its mouth.  A dog bearing a torch in its mouth became a symbol for the Dominicans. 

Saint Dominic is the patron saint of astronomers, scientists, falsely accused people and the Dominican Republic and other  locales throughout the world. 

His feast day is August 8.