Dominic Guzman (1170-1221). When papal missionaries sent among the Cathari were notoriously ineffective, this Spaniard realized why, because the missionaries were relying on their ecclesiastical pomp and dignity, and where getting nowhere. The Albigenses considered his show a sure sign of false religion. Dominic believed that the heretics would listen if the preachers themselves were committed to poverty. To win them, Dominic went forth among them as a poor man, barefoot and begging. His mission lasted only two years before being pushed aside by Pope Innocent III’s "get tough" policy, but the zealous Spaniard was convinced that poverty and preaching belonged together. In 1220 the Dominican mission and lifestyle gained official approval.
[tags]Albigenses, BlogRodent, Cathari, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Innocent-III, Saint-Dominic[/tags]