A dog, a torch, and a saint: The fiery mission of St. Dominic

“St. Dominic of Guzman” by Claudio Coello, circa 1685. / Credit: Claudio Coello, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Rome Newsroom, Aug 8, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA). The first image to greet visitors to the basilica containing the tomb of St. Dominic in Bologna, Italy, is a mosaic of the saint next to a dog carrying a flaming torch in its mouth. This is not a depiction of a pyromaniacal game of fetch but a reference to a dream that…