Name & Logo

Name and logo of torch.op.org

Tradition holds that when pregnant with her son Dominic, Blessed Jane of Aza had a vision of a dog running around the whole world, a blazing torch in its mouth.

The son became the founder of the Order of Preachers, and the prophetic dream was fulfilled as the Dominican friars took the light of the gospel throughout the world. They became known as the "Dogs of the Lord"---in Latin, the domini canes---after their founder and in accordance with his mother's vision.

So today, torch.op.org uses the same image of the dog with the blazing torch, a symbol of the purifying light of the gospel that should burn in our hearts and enlighten those to whom we are sent to preach.

More about the history of the Order of Preachers from the web site of the English Province of the Order of Preachers