Saint Thomas Aquinas
Italian Dominican friar, author of the Summa Theologiae, patron of Catholic schools
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Priest, Doctor of the Church, Religious
- Life
- 1225 – 1274
- Era
- 13th century
- Feast
- 28 January
- Countries
- Italy, France
Life story
Thomas was born around 1225 into a noble family at Roccasecca, near Aquino, in southern Italy. As a boy he was sent to study at the abbey of Monte Cassino and then at Naples. In 1244 he entered the Dominican order; his family opposed this and held him at their castle for about a year before he was released.
He studied at Paris and Cologne under Albert the Great, and from 1256 taught theology at Paris as a master. He then taught in several places in Italy before returning to Paris. His output was enormous: biblical commentaries, commentaries on Aristotle, academic disputations, the Summa contra Gentiles and the Summa Theologiae, begun around 1265.
In late 1273 he stopped writing, leaving the Summa Theologiae unfinished. In early 1274 he was summoned to the Council of Lyon. On the way he fell ill and died at the abbey of Fossanova on 7 March 1274, at about fifty. According to tradition, Pope Urban IV had commissioned him to compose the liturgical texts for the feast of Corpus Christi.
Pope John XXII canonised Thomas in 1323, and Pius V declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1567. In 1879 Leo XIII encouraged the use of his thought as a basis for teaching philosophy and theology, and in 1880 Thomas was declared patron of Catholic schools. His body was buried at Fossanova and later moved to Toulouse, where it still rests in the Dominican church of the Jacobins.
Works and witness
- Entered the Dominican order in 1244
- Studied under Albert the Great at Cologne and Paris
- Taught theology at Paris from 1256
- Wrote the Summa contra Gentiles and the Summa Theologiae
- Declared a Doctor of the Church in 1567
Patron of
Catholic schools and universities
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.