The
Order of Preachers (, hence the abbreviation
OP used by members), more commonly known after the 15th century as the
Dominican Order or
Dominicans, is a
Roman Catholic religious order founded by the Spanish priest
Saint Dominic de Guzman in France and approved by
Pope Honorius III (1216–27) on 22 December 1216. Membership in this "
mendicant" Order includes
friars, nuns, active sisters, and lay or secular Dominicans (formerly known as
tertiaries, though recently there has been a growing number of Associates, who are unrelated to the
tertiaries) affiliated with the Order.