Our Province

The Dominican Friars of Province of St. Joseph are a community called to preach Jesus Christ as part of the worldwide mission of the Order of Friars Preachers.

Under the patronage of Mary, the Mother of God, we are bound, poor and chaste, to one another by our common vow of obedience, and by God’s grace we grow in holiness through our common life, prayer and contemplation, study of the Word, and our fraternity.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, our mission is exercised for the salvation of souls and extends to all of God’s people through these primary ministries:

a. preaching the Word, including all forms of evangelization;
b. teaching and scholarship in service of the ministry of the Word, with priority given to our own foundations: the Dominican House of Studies and Providence College;
c. parochial service, especially in university locales, and in parishes offering strategic opportunities for preaching; and
d. foreign missions.

The Province of St. Joseph (also known as the Eastern Province), founded in 1805, is a province of the Order of Preachers, living out the charism of St. Dominic in the Eastern United States. It is one of four provinces in the United States, the others being the Western Province of the Holy Name (founded in 1850), the Central Province of St. Albert the Great (founded in 1939), and the Southern Province of St. Martin de Porres (founded in 1979).

On this page, you can learn more about our current Provincial, our Province Leadership, the ministries of the Province, and the history of the Province.