Thomas Aquinas
By Levi Clancy for Student Reader on
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- Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas is acknowledged as the greatest Catholic theologian, and his Summa Theologica remains a cornerstone of Catholic interpretation.
Lived 1225/6 - 1274
Rank and group: Doctor, Dominicans
Feast day: 28 January
Patron saint: Academics, philosophers,
theologians, booksellers, colleges, universities
Attributes: Ox, chalice, star
Status: Roman Martyrology
His poetry also is renowned, with his hymns for the feast of Corpus Christi still the favorites in liturgical and extra-liturgical functions. Born to an aristocratic family, Thomas rejected wealth to pursue an austere life as a Dominican brother. Thought dumb in his youth, at the monastery he was discovered to have a great mind. He went on to live a learned life as a professor, outputting prolific writings along the way. Yet he claimed that his writings were so much straw relative to what could be learned in prayer.
| Birth | 1225/6 | Thomas Aquinas was born at Roccasecca, near Aquino, Naples. |
|---|---|---|
| Youth | Taught by Benedictines at Montecassino. | |
| Thomas left his aristocratic family to lead a decidedly non-aristocratic life as a brother of the recently founded Dominicans. He was very large and very silent, and was known as the dumb ox. | ||
| Received his doctorate in theology at the University of Paris. | ||
| Paris | 1252 - 1260 | Thomas taught theology in Paris. |
| Orvieto | 1261 - 1264 | Thomas taught theology in Orvieto. |
| Rome | 1265 - 1267 | Thomas taught theology in Rome. |
| Viterbo | 1268 | Thomas taught theology in Viterbo. |
| Paris | 1269 - 1271 | Thomas taught theology in Paris. |
| Naples | 1272 - 1274 | Thomas taught theology in Naples. |
| Death | Thomas died at Fossanova, near Rome, en route to the council of Lyons. | |
| Canonization | 1323 | |
| Doctor of the Church | 1567 | |
| Patron | 1880 | Declared patron saint of Catholic universities and centers of study. |