Basilica of St. Dominic (Tomb of St. Dominic)

The Story

The Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna, Italy, holds the tomb of St. Dominic de Guzmán (c. 1170-1221), the Spanish founder of the Order of Preachers, whose friars have shaped Catholic preaching, study, and devotion for eight centuries. Dominic conceived his order amid the spiritual confusion of southern France, convinced that the Gospel must be preached by men who lived it in poverty and studied it deeply. The order received papal approval in 1216, and Dominic sent his friars to the university cities of Europe. He himself settled in Bologna, home of Europe's oldest university, where he died among his brethren on August 6, 1221. He was canonized in 1234, and his remains were enshrined in the Arca di San Domenico, a marble masterpiece begun by Nicola Pisano and completed over centuries with sculptures by Niccolò dell'Arca and the young Michelangelo. The saint's relics rest within the chapel that bears his name, his head preserved in a reliquary behind the monument. Dominican tradition closely associates the order with the spread of the Rosary, and the basilica's Rosary chapel continues that devotion. Still served by a community of Dominican friars, San Domenico remains a place of study, preaching, and prayer where pilgrims venerate the founder at the heart of his order's story.

Church Recognition

St. Dominic was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1234, and the basilica enshrining his tomb — the patriarchal church of the Order of Preachers in Bologna — remains served by a living Dominican community.

Catholic Teaching

The tomb of St. Dominic reflects the Church's veneration of the saints and their relics (CCC 946-962; 1674) and honors the charism of religious orders in the Church's mission (CCC 925-927); the Dominican tradition of the Rosary continues to nourish prayer centered on the mysteries of Christ (CCC 971; 2708).

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The Arca di San Domenico in the basilica holds the saint's relics.

Go Deeper

The Dominican community's official website is https://www.sandomenicobologna.it. Jordan of Saxony's Libellus, the earliest life of St. Dominic, and St. John Paul II's Rosarium Virginis Mariae deepen the story of the saint and the devotion his order spread.