Who are we to argue with a mom?

Legend tell us that when Dominic’s mother was pregnant with him, she dreamt of a dog holding a torch in its mouth, the torch interpreted as a means by which to set the world on fire.  Years later, Dominic went on to found the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans, and the teachers of the now St. Dominic were symbolized by this dog dream. The Dalmatian breed not only came to be associated with the Order itself, but was also depicted in many different kinds of church art.  The black and white coat of the dog turned into the colors used by the Order: a white robe, a white hood, and a black cloak thrown over. The Dominicans were thus known as Domini canes: “Dogs of the Lord.”

The church came to be represented symbolically in the art of the day by a black and white dog, particularly during the time of the Inquisition overseen by the order of the Dominicans. Often, a dog is shown at the saint’s feet holding a torch in its mouth. Indeed, the Holy Rosary Church in Portland features stained-glass window depictions of the mysteries of the Rosary. What’s different about these images is that each glass has a little Dalmatian worked into the scene.  We wish we had more history on the stained glass, itself, but we know that the church completed in 1894 was blessed by the Most Rev. William Gross, third Archbishop of Oregon. It became a full parish in 1908, and was established as the first Dominican Priory in the Pacific Northwest the following year.