Chapter VII
Of The Origin And Establishment Of The "Sisters Of Penance" Of St. Dominic, And Of Their Mode Of Life.
The following particulars I have drawn from manuscripts which I consulted in Italy, from informations taken from the seniors of the Order, and the members of it most worthy of trust, and the history of our blessed Founder St. Dominic. That glorious defender of the Catholic Faith, that valiant soldier of Jesus Christ, combated so victoriously the heresies that arose in Toulouse and in Italy, that by himself and his disciples, it was proved at his canonization that his doctrine and his miracles had converted, in Lombardy alone, more than a hundred thousand heretics.
However the poison of error had corrupted minds to such a degree, that all the benefices of the Church were usurped by laymen, who transmitted them in regular inheritance. The Bishops, obliged to beg for their own subsistence, had no means of reforming these abuses, and could not, in accordance with their charge, provide for the wants of regulars nor of the poor. St. Dominic who had chosen poverty for his own portion, did not wish however to see it in such a degree in the Church, and he resolved to strive to restore to her, her wealth. He collected some laymen, whom he knew to be filled with the fear of God, and organized from among them a pious soldiery, for recovering the riches of the Church, defending them, and insisting the injustice of the heretics; this plan succeeded Those who enrolled themselves, swore
