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The Dominican Order or the Order of Preachers was founded in France by Saint Dominic de Guzman. Pope Honorius III approved the order on 22 December 1216. It was founded as a mendicant (baggers) order of preachers. The Order's Constitutions identified its purpose: "Our order was instituted principally for preaching and for the salvation of souls." Similar to the Franciscan Order, Dominicans were not tied to monasteries but active among the population, especially the growing medieval cities. The University of Paris became a center for Dominican study where the Convent of St. Jacques became the order's first university center (Studium generale). Other centers were established in Toulouse, Rome, Bologna, Oxford, and elsewhere. The artist Marco Ventura designed the €0,95 stamp, issued in sheets of ten. The design consists of a profile of a Dominican in the traditional white and black habit, the white symbolizing purity and chastity and the black representing penance and sacrifice. The design includes an eight-pointed star (wisdom) and a dog with a torch, symbolizing Dominican fidelity as "dogs of the Lord," (Domini canes). Saint Dominic de Guzman's feast day is celebrated on August 8, the date of his birth.

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