Title: The Angelic Doctor
Patron of: Catholic schools, students, philosophers, theologians
“Contemplata aliis tradere — To hand on to others the fruits of contemplation.”
— Motto often associated with the theological mission of St. Thomas
Early Life and Divine Favor
Saint Thomas Aquinas was born around the year 1225, at the castle of Roccasecca near Aquino in the Kingdom of Sicily, to the noble family of the Counts of Aquino. From his earliest years, he was marked by a quiet gravity and a profound piety that astonished his elders. At the age of five, he was entrusted to the care of the Benedictine monks at the great Abbey of Monte Cassino, where he was formed in the discipline of the Rule of Saint Benedict and first showed his inclination toward the life of contemplation.
By his teens, Thomas was sent to the University of Naples, where he encountered the newly-founded Order of Preachers, the Dominicans. Recognizing in their poverty and zeal a life wholly consecrated to Christ, he sought to join them. His family, fearing the loss of status such a choice might bring, imprisoned him for over a year in their castle, trying by persuasion, temptation, and even the enticement of impurity to dissuade him. But the young Thomas remained unmoved, and in one famous incident, drove a woman sent to seduce him from his chamber with a burning brand, after which he was granted the angelic virtue of perfect chastity by a vision of angels who girded him with a mystical cord.
Theological Formation and Humility
Upon his release, Thomas entered the Dominican Order. He studied under the greatest masters of the age, including St. Albert the Great, who quickly perceived the extraordinary gifts hidden beneath the young friar’s silence and humility. Other students, mistaking his quiet nature for dullness, called him the “Dumb Ox,” to which St. Albert famously replied:
“You call him the Dumb Ox, but I tell you this Dumb Ox will bellow so loud that his voice will be heard throughout the world.”
Saint Thomas was ordained a priest and began a life of teaching, preaching, and writing, centered always on the Sacred Truth. He combined the Aristotelian method with the fullness of Catholic doctrine, harmonizing faith and reason in a manner unparalleled in the history of the Church.
His Works and Mystical Life
The most renowned of his writings is the Summa Theologiae, a monumental synthesis of Catholic theology, arranged in a methodical, clear, and reverent manner. It remains to this day a foundational work for all theological study.
Yet for all his learning, Thomas remained deeply mystical. He was frequently absorbed in ecstasies during the Mass. His commentaries on Sacred Scripture, his prayers before the Crucifix, and his Eucharistic hymns—such as the Pange Lingua, Adoro Te Devote, and Tantum Ergo—flow not only from reason illumined by faith but from a heart set ablaze with divine love.
Shortly before his death, after receiving a vision of the glory of God, Thomas ceased writing, saying:
“All that I have written seems to me as straw, compared to what I have seen.”
Holy Death and Canonization
In obedience to Pope Gregory X, Saint Thomas set out for the Council of Lyons, but en route, fell ill at the Cistercian Abbey of Fossanova. There he died in the odor of sanctity on March 7, 1274, receiving the Last Sacraments with great devotion and reciting with his final breath the Canticle of Canticles.
He was canonized by Pope John XXII in 1323, and later declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope St. Pius V in 1567. His feast was traditionally celebrated on March 7, but in the 1962 Missal it is kept on January 28, commemorating the translation of his relics.
Legacy in the Church
Saint Thomas is known as the Angelic Doctor, and Pope Leo XIII declared him the patron of all Catholic schools and urged that his works be the foundation of all theological instruction. The Council of Trent placed the Summa alongside the Scriptures and the Decrees of the Popes on the altar during its deliberations.
His theology, imbued with Scripture, the Fathers, and reason illuminated by grace, remains the standard of orthodoxy in the Roman Church. His clarity, precision, and profound devotion serve as a light for the faithful, guiding them ever closer to the contemplation of God.
Prayer to Saint Thomas Aquinas
O God, who didst enlighten Thy Church with the wondrous learning and holiness of Thy blessed confessor Thomas, grant, we beseech Thee, that through his intercession we may understand what he taught and imitate what he lived. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.