In 1220 the Dominican mission and life-style gained official approval. The new preaching order that we know as Dominicans, was called “mendicant” meaning “begging” and the term “friar” (or brother) distinguished them from monks because, unlike monks, they went forth to live among people to preach and teach. Just as monastic houses had once arisen to minister in the countryside, so the mendicant friars now emerged to meet the spiritual needs of townspeople.
