| In the 1200s, members of new religious orders, called friars, began to work among the people. |
| The foundation of the Dominican and Franciscan Orders of friars in the thirteenth century transformed the spiritual life of the Western Church. |
| There, he advises that someone should recite the Credo continuously for a dying person, which was the customary practice of his fellow friars. |
| Thomas was a biblical commentator, an educator of his fellow friars, a theologian, a preacher, and a great contemplative. |
| One of the four main orders of friars, the Dominican s were founded in 1205 by St. Dominic, an Augustinian Canon. |
| The laity, however, reserved their deepest respect for the celibate, highly-educated Franciscan friars. |
