Dominican Order marks 800‑year legacy with Rome jubilee and global reflections

In November 2015 the Dominican friars inaugurated a year‑long jubilee at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome, commemorating eight centuries since Saint Domingo de Guzmán founded the Order of Preachers. The ceremony highlighted the legend of the “Lapis Diaboli,” a black basalt block said to have been hurled by the devil at the saint, leaving scratches that are now displayed on a Solomonic column in the church. The block and the repaired martyr’s tomb were reportedly restored by architect Domenico Fontana after the 1527 renovation.

Separately, a Radio María program in Guatemala on 8 August 2026 recounted Saint Domingo’s life: his humble origins in Caleruega, Spain; his charitable acts during a famine; his rejection of wealth in favor of poverty; and his innovative missionary methods that led to the rapid spread of the Dominican Order, now comprising about 6,800 friars in 680 houses worldwide.