(Bratislava) – The Czech province of the Dominican Order joins in the celebrations for the 800th anniversary of its approval by Pope Honorius III. “Our jubilee encourages us to return to the roots of the Order, to commemorate, both internationally and locally, the moment when our founder St. Dominic sent our first brothers outside their homes, families, nations so that they could discover the joy and freedom of preaching on their way to all corners of the world, preaching as a part of their pilgrimage”, explain the Czech Dominicans. “We hope that the commemoration of our roots will contribute to the renewal of our service as preachers of God’s Word”. The Czech province of the Dominican Order is working on a new website for the Jubilee that should be launched at the beginning of 2016. The programme of celebrations at the national level will include an exhibition entitled “St. Dominic and his followers – 800 years of spiritual adventure”, lectures on “the spiritual life and great example of Dominican saints”, due to be held in Prague from January 2016 till December 2016, or a congress on the historical roots of the Dominican Order in Bohemia and Moravia (September 2016). The celebrations of the jubilee in the Czech Republic will culminate in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary in Olomouc on 21 January 2017. The details of the Jubilee Year will be continually updated on the website www.op.cz