The Diocese of Phoenix celebrated the feast day of St. Dominic recently.

“Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order and patron of astronomers,” the diocese posted on Facebook. 

St. Dominic was born in Spain in the 12th century into a noble family, a Britannica report said. In his 20s, he joined a religious community and while traveling abroad with the bishop of Osmo, Dominic realized that the Church in France was being threatened by Albigensian heretics who were teaching that anything concerning the body—including eating, drinking, and procreating—was evil. Dominic and the bishop determined that in order to convert the heretics, they needed to practice austerity by living in poverty and traveling barefoot, which marked the beginning of Dominic's "evangelical preaching." 

Dominic succeeded in converting approximately 16 heretics, who began to follow him, Britannica said. The group worked to establish a formal religious order devoted to preaching, and Pope Honorius III officially recognized the Dominican Order in 1216. 

Catholics celebrates Saint Dominic's feast day each year on Aug. 8, a report from Franciscan Media said. He is the patron saint of astronomers and of the Dominican Republic. 

The Dominican Order today is comprised of friars, nuns, sisters and lay people who continue to practice St. Dominic's mission of teaching, preaching, studying and praying; a report from Dominican Life USA said. Dominican friars in the U.S. engage in campus ministry at universities; lead retreats, missions and workshops; serve as chaplains in hospitals and convents; and serve as missionaries.