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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
CELEBRATING THE 800TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DOMINICAN ORDER
WHEREAS, 800 years ago St. Dominic was inspired to raise up a new religious order to preach for the salvation of souls and to explore questions of the time that required a deeper understanding of the union between faith and reason; and
WHEREAS, the four pillars of Dominican life are preaching, prayer, study, and community; and
WHEREAS, over the course of eight centuries, the Dominican Order has encompassed theologians and philosophers, such as St. Albert and St. Thomas Aquinas; mystics, such as St. Catherine of Siena and Johannes (John) Tauler; artists, such as Fra Angelico and Michelangelo; humble saints, such as St. Martin de Porres and St. Agnes of Montepulciano; reformers, such as St. Antoninus and Pope Pius V; and prophetic preachers, such as St. Vincent Ferrer and Gustavo Gutierrez; and
WHEREAS, Dominican men and women have been on mission in the United States for more than two
centuries. The initial move toward founding a Dominican province in the United States was made by Edward Dominic Fenwick, O.P., an American descendant of early Maryland colonists; and
WHEREAS, since its founding, the Order of Preachers has been associated with centers of learning. Dominican Sisters in the early 1900s attended colleges and universities in increasing numbers at home and abroad and began to establish colleges for young women. The Sinsinawa congregation opened St. Clara College in River Forest (later named Rosary College and then Dominican University), which granted its first bachelor’s degree in 1904; and
WHEREAS, today more than 6,500 friars, 4,000 nuns, 35,000 active sisters, and 100,000 lay Dominicans are active in the Dominican Family, spanning more than 100 countries and 41 provinces and vicariates; and
WHEREAS, the twofold motto of the Order continues to be Veritas, in a world hungering for truth, and Caritas, the equally urgent need for human compassion and mercy; and
WHEREAS, in every age, Dominicans have tried to respond to the signs of the times, always conscious that every generation needs to hear afresh the message of God’s love and friendship with humanity; and
WHEREAS, St. Vincent Ferrer Church in River Forest will join Dominican churches and shrines around the world in providing lectures and other special events throughout 2016 to commemorate the 800-year jubilee.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby honor the Dominican Order of Preachers as it celebrates its 800 years of service.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a commemorative copy of this resolution be presented to St. Vincent Ferrer Church as it celebrates this momentous occasion.
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