Organization

Who are we?

We are young people attracted by the Dominican vocation, committed to announcing the Gospel from the spirituality and charism of the Order of Preachers. Motivated by prayer, study and fraternal life in the common and permanent mission of preaching, as lay people we bring the Spirit of Christ to different realities and contexts. (Cf. Statutes IDYM-MJD 2017, 1.1)

Thus, in various countries there are groups of these young lay people around the friars or the various congregations of Dominican sisters. When these groups are accepted and recognized by the Prior Provincial or Prioress (in the case of congregations of sisters), they become members of the International Dominican Youth Movement —MJD, or IDYM for its acronym in English— and of the Dominican Family (2.1, 2.5).

The Order of Preachers, under the responsibility of the Master General, welcomes with joy these member groups of the IDYM, who are a sign and constitute an important part of the vitality of its preaching (2.1).

In this way, the IDYM accompanies young people —between 18 and 35 years old— and allows them to live a period of passage in their lives within the Dominican charism.

Who are part of the IDYM?

The members of the IDYM are the local groups that have been accepted and recognized by the regional Prior or Prioress, who also approve their statutes. Young people are part of the IDYM not individually but as part of a local group.

  • Latin America and the Caribbean — 45.5%
  • Africa — 23.5%
  • Asia-Pacific — 22.1%
  • Europe and North America — 8.8%
Latin America and the Caribbean — 45.5% · 937 Africa — 23.5% · 484 Asia-Pacific — 22.1% · 455 Europe and North America — 8.8% · 182
  • 937 LATAM · 9 countries
  • 484 Africa · 8 countries
  • 455 Asia-Pacific · 3 countries
  • 182 Europe and North America · 4 countries

Total: 2,058 members · 24 countries · International Directory 2025–2026

What do these groups have to be like to be part of the IDYM?

  • The movement is open, welcoming and eager to share its spirit and mission with other young people.
  • We are organized in groups in each country with the support of the Dominican Family.
  • We are under the responsibility of the Prior Provincial, the Vice-Provincial or Vicar, or the Prioress General or Provincial Superior of a Dominican Congregation.

To be part of the IDYM, the groups must have internal regulations and be made up of young lay people, between the ages of 18 and 35, who have received the sacraments of Christian initiation, who have a certain maturity in the faith, who feel identified with the Dominican charism, and who commit themselves —temporarily and flexibly— to their group and its mission.

Who accompanies these groups?

Group assistants can be friars, nuns, apostolic sisters or lay Dominicans with experience in the Dominican Family and with the ability to work in the world of youth. They must take part in all meetings, but they do not have a vote nor can they be elected to any position in it —they lack active and passive voice— (5.1, 5.3).