Ministries - How We Do It
- Preaching Teams
- Dominicans are involved in a variety of ministries, but all Dominicans are engaged one way or another in the Order’s ministry of preaching. There are a growing number of members of the province whose entire ministry is one of preaching. Preaching teams and individual Dominican preachers travel throughout the country to preach retreats and parish renewals.
- Social Justice
- Members of our Province are active in Justice and Peace offices of many dioceses and offer direct services to the poor in many other ways.
- Parish Ministry
- The largest single ministerial commitment of our Province is to parishes, particularly to urban parishes. Our parishes serve the poor and middle class. We staff the following parishes:
- Campus Ministry
- Members of our province serve in colleges operated by Dominican women and in several state and private universities as campus ministers, serving not only the students, but the faculties as well. We have men at the following Universities:
- Teaching
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- Fenwick High School: Our Province operates Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, a coed prep school. It is the only school still operated and staffed by Dominican friars in the U.S.A
- Aquinas Institute of Theology: Members of our Province also teach at our graduate school of theology, Aquinas Institute, in St. Louis.
- Dominican Eccleisial Institute (D+E+I): The Province of St. Albert the Great also promotes a unique collaborative ministry of education and adult faith formation with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Aquinas Newman Center through this apostolate of the province.
- We also have a number of men teaching in various colleges and universities (i.e., Dominican University and Notre Dame.)
- Shrine of St. Jude
- The Dominican Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus in Chicago is a worldwide ministry of the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great which has been bringing the faithful together in prayer since 1929. St. Jude Thaddeus is the “Patron Saint of Desperate Causes” and has widespread popular devotion. Ministries of the Shrine include:
- Daily Mass celebrated for the intentions of the “Friends of St. Jude”
- Public Masses at the Shrine including Dominican preaching
- PrayerNet, an internet prayer ministry making it possible for the homebound and those in far away places the opportunity to join in prayer with one another in times of need.
- The cherished Arm Relic of St. Jude is perhaps the largest relic of any apostle in the United States. It is a source of hope and wonder, a sign of how Christ’s healing grace works through the saints, even after death. It is present on permanent exposition at the Shrine.
- A gift shop offers religious articles for sale, and is the exclusive outlet for St. Jude Oil (a donation is asked for the oil).A site with centralized resources for those wishing to investigate popular Catholic devotions such as devotions to the saints, the rosary, and other cultural religious practices.
- Periodic mailings of spiritual interest
- Hospital Chaplaincy
- Some members of our province are chaplains at major hospitals ministering to the sick/dying and their families.
- The Missions
- Bolivia: Some members of our Province have worked in Bolivia in a number of ministries including teaching, the charismatic movement and social justice. A novitiate for Bolivian candidates to the Order was opened in 1982. Nigeria: Since 1951 members of our Province have been in Nigeria involved in parish work, teaching and primary evangelization. The first Nigerian Dominicans were professed in 1964 and now number nearly two-thirds of the Dominicans in Nigeria. In 1986 Nigeria became a Vice-Province and is now a Province.
