Saint Thomas Aquinas marks a “before and after” in Christian theology and philosophy. His revolutionary approach integrated the intellectual tools of the age, achieving a synthesis between faith and reason that transcended the limitations of his time. His defence of study as the path to divine truth makes Saint Thomas a fundamental figure.
His magnum opus, the Summa Theologiae, laid the foundations for systematic theological thinking that still inspires scholars and believers today. His teachings, based on principles such as the tireless quest for truth and trust in the power of grace, remain a guiding light for the 21st century.
Saint Thomas Aquinas was born at Roccasecca Castle (Italy) in 1225. Son of the Counts of Aquino, he received his initial religious and scientific education in the Montecassino Abbey, before progressing to the recently-founded University of Naples. There, Friar John of Saint Julian encouraged him to join the community of Friar Preachers at the age of sixteen, marking the start of his vocation for the apostolic life. At the age of nineteen, he entered the Order of Preachers.
Saint Thomas had to defend this decision, made at such a young age, more than once: first, to his aristocratic family who, when he was a novice, kidnapped him and placed him in a dungeon in the Roccasecca Castle for six months; and later, in front of the masters in Paris, who would not allow him to teach at the university due the fact that he was a mendicant friar.
On the advice of Friar John, the Teuton [John of Wildeshausen], Master of the Order, he completed his studies in Paris and Cologne under the guidance of Friar Albertus Magnus, who convinced him of the need to build on the theory expounded by Aristotle, the philosopher of reason, that reason is a gift from God to which we must devote ourselves. At the age of thirty-two, Thomas Aquinas became Professor of Theology in Paris. In Thomas’ work, the Word of God in the Scripture had primacy over the other sciences, making prayer the most fertile source of his research. While in Paris, Thomas, alongside the other Dominican friars, produced philosophical and theological reflections that were later presented at the university.
He wrote many works that stand out for their depth, impressing masters and students alike with the clarity, distinction, subtlety, and truth with which a broad range of different subjects were explained, as can be seen in the four lengthy tomes he wrote about the Magister Sententiarum (“Master of the Sentences”), Peter Lombard.
During those years, he demonstrated his talent arguing, debating, and responding that, in line with the university’s thinking, only God could have granted him such ingenuity, — and that was truly the case. His fame spread all around Europe, thanks to the many who came to study at the Sorbonne and later returned to their respective homelands singing of the master’s wisdom.
After Paris, he taught in Rome and Naples, producing his Summa Theologiae, among many other works.
Saint Thomas Aquinas died at Fossanova Abbey, on 7 March 1274, while on the way to the second Council of Lyon. He was canonised on 18 July 1323 by John XXII. Saint Pius V declared him Doctor of the Church on 11 April 1567. And on 4 August 1880, Leo XIII proclaimed him patron saint of all Catholic universities and schools.
Friar José Manuel Correia Fernandes, OP
