A Tale of Two Cities: Dominican Friars in Paris and Bologna

Things are simpler for the Franciscans. If they want to make a pilgrimage to the birthplace of their founder, or to the site of his labours, or to the place of his death and tomb, they need travel no further than Assisi. For pious Dominicans, things are more complicated. If they want to visit the place where St Dominic was born and where he spent most of his life, they must travel to Spain; if they want to visit the place where he established his Order and did much of his most important preaching, they must travel to southern France; and if they want to visit the place of his death and pray at his tomb, they must go to Bologna, Italy.

How on earth did Dominic end up buried in Bologna? Once we seek an explanation for this, we learn a lot in the process about the formative years of the Order and about Dominic’s vision for the preaching mission of his Order.

Scattered seed

In 1217 things were going well for Dominic’s budding religious order. It had recently received official papal confirmation, it held several churches and priories in Toulouse, and about twenty friars were engaged in the Order’s preaching mission. But in May Dominic announced that he would break up this promising community and send his friars to far-off cities, a move often referred to as ‘the dispersal of the brethren’. Dominic had come to realise that the Order had a wider preaching mission than the defence of the faith in southern France. Some friars and friends of Dominic opposed this decision, but Dominic was firm. His second biographer, Peter of Ferrand, commented: “For he knew that grain bears fruit if sown, but, if stored, it rots.”

Why Paris and Bologna?

The dispersal began in August 1217. Over the course of the following six months the friars would be sent to Spain, Rome, Paris and Bologna. These last two cities were to figure heavily in the growth of the Order and retain an enduring significance in the Order’s history.

The importance of Rome is well-known; then, as now, it was the spiritual and administrative centre of the church. It is no surprise then that this was the place Dominic chose for his base. Spain was Dominic’s homeland; he would have been well-acquainted with the need for preaching there, including preaching to the Moors. But what about Paris and Bologna? Why not Lyons and Florence? The reason is that Paris and Bologna had become the intellectual centres of the world, the sites of the leading universities of the time. Young men came to these cities from across Europe to study the liberal arts. Bologna in particular had become very famous for the study of law. This gave these cities a double attraction for Dominic: first, if his friars were to be serious about study, it was essential for at least some of them to attend the lectures available here and study under the great masters of the day; secondly, these were the places where young men serious about study and ideas gathered. In other words, as well as being ideal for study, they were also ideal for recruitment.

The original vocations boom

Eight friars arrived in Paris in September 1217 with the mission of studying, preaching and founding a priory. They had almost immediate success in establishing themselves. Within a year they had their own priory, when, at the instigation of their friend Pope Honorius III, a master at the University of Paris donated to the friars the chapel and hospice of St Jacques. Within the next 18 months the number of friars grew to 30. In a further four years, there would be 120 friars at this priory.

This success was matched at Bologna under the leadership of Reginald of Orleans. By the time of Dominic’s visit in August of 1219, Reginald had won several recruits from the university through his preaching, including three masters of the university. They had also gained the church of St Nicholas and established a priory there. It was such a success that Dominic was shortly able to send friars from Bologna to establish the Order at Florence, Verona and Milan. Dominic also now made Bologna his base for the remainder of his life, making trips to Rome only when necessary.

The general chapters

Paris and Bologna were not significant for the Order merely because they were the site of the Order’s first boom in vocations. For the following two decades they were also the sites of the Order’s General Chapter – the highest authority in the Order and its principal source of government. The first two were held in Bologna in 1220 and 1221. At the General Chapter of 1220 it was decided that the following annual chapters would be held alternately in Bologna and Paris. This remained the case until 1245, when the chapter was held in Cologne.

Theological centres

Because of their close links with the two great continental universities, the priories of St Jacques and St Nicholas became important sources of the Order’s intellectual life. St Jacques in particular was very important. This priory was the first studium generale of the Order, where the best students from each province were sent for their theological training. After gaining degrees from the University of Paris and teaching there for some time, they would be sent to other priories and universities throughout Europe. This was the place where St Thomas Aquinas studied under St Albert the Great. In 1248, Bologna also became a studium generale, along with Oxford, Montpellier and Cologne.

The tomb of St Dominic

Bologna will always be important for the Order, because it was the site of Dominic’s death, on 6 August 1221, shortly after the General Chapter of that year. He was buried in the church of St Nicholas. The devotion of the Bolognese people to Dominic’s tomb began immediately on his burial. In 1233, after the church was rebuilt and Dominic’s relics were translated to a more magnificent tomb, a delegation of representatives from all walks of Bolognese life went to Rome to petition the pope for Dominic’s canonisation. Bologna then had the further distinction of being the place of one of the inquiries held in the process of canonisation. The inquiry took place in August 1233, and Dominic was canonised in July of the following year.