Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 - March 7 1274) was a Catholic philosopher and
theologian in the scholastic tradition. He is considered by the Catholic
church to be its greatest theologian and one of the thirty-three Doctors
of the Church.
Early years
The life of Thomas Aquinas offers many interesting insights into the world
of the High Middle Ages. He was born into a family of the south Italian
nobility and was through his mother Countess Theadora of Theate related
to the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Holy Roman emperors. He was probably born
early in 1225 at his father's castle of Roccasecca in Neapolitan territory,
his father being Count Landulf. Landulf's brother, Sinibald, was abbot
of the original Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino, and the family
intended Thomas to follow his uncle into that position; this would have
been a normal career-path for a younger son of the nobility.
In his fifth year he was sent for his early education to the monastery.
However, after studying at the University of Naples, Thomas joined the
Dominican order, which along with the Franciscan order represented a revolutionary
challenge to the well-established clerical systems of early medieval Europe.
This change of heart did not please the family; on the way to Rome, Thomas
was seized by his brothers and brought back to his parents at the castle
of San Giovanni, where he was held a captive for a year or two to make
him relinquish his purpose. According to his earliest biographers, the
family even brought a prostitute to tempt him, but he drove her away.
Finally the family yielded and the Dominicans sent Thomas to Cologne to
study under Albertus Magnus; he arrived probably in late 1244. He accompanied
Albertus to the University of Paris in 1245, remained there with his teacher
for three years, and followed Albertus back to Cologne in 1248. For several
years longer he remained with the famous philosopher of scholasticism,
presumably teaching. This long association of Thomas with the great polyhistor
was the most important influence in his development; it made him a comprehensive
scholar and won him permanently for the Aristotelian method.
Career
In 1252 Aquinas went to Paris for the master's degree, but met with some
difficulty owing to attacks on the mendicant orders by the professoriate
of the University. Ultimately, however, he received the degree and entered
upon his office of teaching in 1257; he taught in Paris for several years
and there wrote some of his works and began others. In 1259 he was present
at an important chapter of his order at Valenciennes. At the solicitation
of Pope Urban IV (therefore not before the latter part of 1261), he took
up his residence in Rome. In 1269-71 he was again active in Paris. In
1272 the provincial chapter at Florence empowered him to found a new studium
generale at such place as he should choose, and he selected
Naples.
Contemporaries described Thomas as a big man, corpulent and dark-complexioned,
with a large head and receding hairline. His manners showed his breeding;
he is described as refined, affable, and lovable. In argument he maintained
self-control and won over opponents by his personality and great learning.
His tastes were simple. His associates were specially impressed by his
power of memory. When absorbed in thought, he often forgot his surroundings.
The ideas he developed by such strenuous absorption he was able to express
for others systematically, clearly and simply.
Death and canonization
Early in 1274 the Pope directed him to attend the Second Council of Lyons
and, though far from well, he undertook the journey. On the way he stopped
at the castle of a niece and there became seriously ill. He wished to
end his days in a monastery and not being able to reach a house of the
Dominicans he was taken to the Cistercians. He died at the monastery of
Fossanova, one mile from Sonnino, on March 7, 1274.
Aquinas had made a remarkable impression on all who knew him. He was placed
on a level with the saints Paul and Augustine, receiving the title doctor
angelicus. In 1319, the Roman Catholic Church began investigations preliminary
to Aquinas' canonization; on July 18, 1323, he was pronounced a saint
by Pope John XXII at Avignon. At the Council of Trent only 2 books were
placed on the Altar, the Bible and St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica.
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