Beneath Mary’s Mantle: Bl. Mannes (Mid 12th Century - c.1234)
St. Dominic once had a dream in which he saw all the saints of the Order safely beneath the mantle of Mary, Protectress of the Order of Preachers. In this blog series, we’ll introduce our beloved Dominican Saints, learn about their lives and work, and come to see how they still inspire and pass on their gifts to today’s faithful.
Born: Mid-12th Century in Calaruega, Spain
Died: c. 1234 in Calaruega, Spain
Feast Day: August 18
In the Gospel, Jesus laments on a visit to his hometown, “A prophet is not without honor except… among his own kin and in his own house.” (Mk 6:4) The subject of today’s blog post is most definitely an exception to that rule! Blessed Mannes de Guzman was the biological brother of our founder St. Dominic. Relatively few details of the de Guzman household have been passed down to us today, but we do know that Mannes was the second of three sons in the family, possibly born around 1150. He was many years older than Dominic, so much so that both Mannes and older brother Anthony were already studying to become priests by the time their youngest brother was born. However, years later when Dominic began to establish his Order of Preachers, Mannes had no qualms about following his little brother’s lead and even vowing obedience to him. He was one of the first 16 companions of St. Dominic, the original group of friars who made profession into the founder’s hands in August 1217.
A faithful example of holy obedience, Mannes served wherever his superior sent him, which included France as well as his native Spain. One of his notable assignments as a friar was as chaplain to a new community of Dominican nuns in Madrid, where he may have stayed for around a dozen years. Mannes was noted for his gentle, contemplative personality; perhaps it was these qualities that St. Dominic pegged as fitting for a chaplain to the nuns. Most of the rest of Mannes’ life is unknown to us, with the exception of a final act of reverence for his brother: after St. Dominic’s death and canonization, Mannes visited their ancestral home of Calaruega and urged the people there to venerate his brother, encouraging the building of a chapel in his honor. Mannes died sometime in the 1230s and was buried in Calaruega at the Cistercian monastery of San Pedro de Gumiel. Pope Gregory XVI beatified him in 1833.
It is easy to imagine how Bl. Mannes’ story could have gone wrong, had he not been open to God’s plan for him involving obedience to his younger brother. Dominican historian Sr. Mary Jean Dorcy, OP writes, “Jealousy… might at the very outset have tarnished the beauty of the Dominican foundation had [Mannes] not been what he was, a holy, humble, and magnanimous soul, devoted not to winning the notice of men but that of God.” Bl. Mannes’ life illustrates how we do not attain holiness in a bubble: our opportunities to grow in grace frequently involve the people that surround us. For cloistered nuns, this is one of the beautiful (and sometimes difficult!) parts of living in community with the same people 24/7. But even for those outside the cloister, one’s family members, coworkers, friends, and community members are not there by accident. God wants us to help one another grow in holiness! Bl. Mannes practiced humility and obedience in his relationship with his brother. Perhaps God has opened the door for you to practice a specific virtue through a relationship in your life: charity towards a frustrating coworker, patience with a family member, or courage in defending the faith to a fallen-away Catholic friend, to give just a few examples.
Let us, like Bl. Mannes, open our eyes to the opportunities for holiness that are right in front of us. May we grow in love of God through a greater love for our neighbor.
Blessed Mannes, pray for us!
