Dominican Brothers: Conversi, Lay, and Cooperator Friars by the noted Dominican author and historian, Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P., captures the rich and elaborative history of the vocation and ministry of Dominican brothers since the very foundation of the Dominican Order in 1216. Through exhaustive and ground-breaking research, Fr. Thompson has uncovered a legion of little known facts and about the history, vitality, permanence, and presence of the vocation and ministry of the Dominican brother (including saints, blesseds, and martyrs) in promoting Dominican fraternal life and the mission of the Order in service to the Church universal. Thompson's work is not limited to a dry historical review of the past; rather, he brings the richness of the past into the present day so that it will promote vocations to the Dominican brotherhood, whose life and ministry are indispensable in the process of renewing and sustaining the fraternal life and ministry of the Order and the Church: preaching and the salvation of souls. This prophetic document also needs to be studied by other religious orders and read in tandem with the Vatican Document, "Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother in the Church," issued by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies for Apostolic Life.

Over the past 20 years, Nathan G. Castle, OP, has helped at least 250

Dominican Penitent Women presents a fascinating overview of the spirituality, religious practices, and ways of life of medieval Italian women who belonged to the Dominican Order as lay members or penitents. Through selected texts, readers gain a fresh perspective on the institutional and spiritual foundations of Dominican lay life, but also an understanding of how these women refashioned Dominican ideals into practices that best responded to their individual and social means. Their way of life created an important alternative for women who sought religious perfection in the world. The first section consists of two penitent rules: the Ordinationes of Munio from the late 13th century and the formal penitent rule of the early 15th century, which show how penitents were to organize and live their lives. The second section is dedicated to hagiographic sources. The third section is made up of penitent women's religious writing. The texts translated here present an overview of Dominican women's literary production that complements the writings of Catherine of Siena, already available in English. While Dominican penitent women held an important position in medieval piety, aside from Catherine of Siena, their spirituality has not attracted much scholarly attention. As the first comprehensive introduction to medieval Dominican laywomen and Dominican penitent spirituality in English, this book makes a significant scholarly and spiritual contribution. +

In May 1962, as the struggle for civil rights heated up in the United States and leaders of the Catholic Church prepared to meet for Vatican Council II, Pope John XXIII named the first black saint of the Americas, the Peruvian Martín de Porres (1579–1639), and designated him the patron of racial justice. The son of a Spanish father and a former slavewoman from Panamá, Martín served a lifetime as the barber and nurse at the great Dominican monastery in Lima. This book draws on visual representations of Martín and the testimony of his contemporaries to produce the first biography of this pious and industrious black man from the cosmopolitan capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru. The book vividly chronicles the evolving interpretations of his legend and his miracles, and traces the centuries-long campaign to formally proclaim Martín de Porres a hero of universal Catholicism.

Father Hinnebusch received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford where he studied prior to his assignment as professor of history at Providence College. He subsequently spent three years doing research at the Historical Institute of the Dominican Order in Rome where he published The Early English Friars Preachers. For many years he taught Church History at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. A contributor to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, the Catholic Youth Encyclopedia and the New Catholic Encyclopedia, Fr. Hinnebusch was also the author of Renewal in the Spirit of St. Dominic (1968).

The Medicalization of dying and the disregard for the life of the soul within contemporary health care prompt the return of the Ars moriendi, or The Art of Dying. This widely influential fifteenth-century text was designed to guide dying persons and their loved ones in Catholic religious practices at a time when access to a priest and the sacraments was similarly limited. This remarkable and inspiring work serves as a valuable resource for Catholic today, encouraging their full participation in the rich sacramental and liturgical tradition of the Church and challenging them to keep their eyes fixed on Christ and the promise of eternal life with him. This new translation includes illuminating annotations on its theological and pastoral content. A scholarly introduction examines the book's history, use, and present application. The book contains exact reproductions of the original medieval woodblock prints. Additional prayers have been incorporated from the longer version of the work, newly translated with Latin originals. The appendix presents confessions of faith, explanations of the sacraments, and guides to the examination of conscience, the rosary, and the divine mercy chaplet.