Born in Spain around the year 1000, Dominic came from a peasant family, and as a boy spent a great deal of time working in the fields as a shepherd, where he enjoyed solitude. 

When he was old enough, Dominic became a Benedictine Monk, was ordained a priest, and soon was named Master of Novices, and then Prior. 

At one point, he became involved in a dispute over property with the King of Navarre, which ended up with Dominic and two other Monks being exiled. 

Under the protection of the King of Spain, Ferdinand they found refuge. 

In the town of Silos, at the decaying Abbey of St. Sebastian, occupied by only six other Monks, Dominic was appointed Abbot and proceeded to rebuild the Monastery both physically and spiritually. 

Under his leadership, it became one of the most famous in Spain. 

He built cloisters and established a scriptorium, which made the Monastery a major center for book design and scholarship, raising significant proceeds through the workshop. 

Wealthy patrons endowed the monastery and Dominic used those funds to ransome Christians captured by the Moors. 

Dominic was also known for works of healing. 

By the time of his death in 1073, the Monastery had 40 Monks and it was later named after him. 

About a century after his death, a young woman who experienced difficulty during her pregnancy made a pilgrimage to his tomb. There, Dominic of Silos appeared to her and assured her that she would bear a son. 

That woman, was Blessed Joan Guzman, and her son grew up to be the other Dominic, St. Dominic Guzman, founder of the Dominicans. 

St. Dominic of Silos, please pray for us.