Saint Anselm of Canterbury

Life story

Anselm was born in 1033 in Aosta, in the Alps of northern Italy, to a noble family. After leaving home in his youth and travelling widely, he came to the abbey of Bec in Normandy in 1059 and became a monk there in 1060, under Lanfranc. In 1063 he succeeded Lanfranc as prior, and in 1078 he was elected abbot. At Bec he wrote his first works, including the Monologion and the Proslogion, and became renowned as a teacher.

In 1093 King William II of England appointed him archbishop of Canterbury, and Anselm accepted the office reluctantly. He soon came into conflict with the king over the rights of the Church and the receiving of the pallium from Rome. He had to leave England in 1097 and attended the Council of Bari in 1098, where he argued about the procession of the Holy Spirit. He returned after William's death in 1100, but a dispute with King Henry I over the appointment of bishops, known as the investiture controversy, sent him into exile again from 1103 to 1106.

The dispute ended with an agreement in London in 1107, in which the king gave up investing clergy but kept the oath of homage. While archbishop, Anselm wrote Cur Deus Homo, on why the Son of God became man, along with many letters. He died on 21 April 1109 at Canterbury. He was canonised in 1494 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1720.

Works and witness

• Became a monk of Bec in 1060 and abbot in 1078
• Wrote the Monologion, Proslogion and Cur Deus Homo
• Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093
• Twice exiled after disputes with the kings of England
• Declared a Doctor of the Church in 1720

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Eadmer, Vita Anselmi
• Anselm of Canterbury, Proslogion and Cur Deus Homo
• Martyrologium Romanum

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.