Saint Thomas Aquinas

Today the Church celebrates the memory of Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest and Doctor of the Church. A Dominican priest and professor, he is considered a patron saint of Catholic Schools, of students, and of universities. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential theologians of all time.

At one time a student of Saint Albert the Great, among his other accomplishments he helped people realize that, just because Aristotle was a pagan, any truth that he spoke should not be disregarded. Thomas Aquinas said that truth cannot contradict truth. There was a bit of controversy at the time because of a faulty translation of Aristotle’s writings, and one thing Thomas Aquinas focused was finding out what Aristotle really wrote (perhaps a good lesson for us at a time when so many written and spoken words are taken out of context or mistranslated or otherwise misunderstood).

For background information about Saint Thomas Aquinas, please visit:

Doctors of the Church: Saint Thomas Aquinas

Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Thomas Aquinas (1912 Edition)

G.K. Chesterton: St. Thomas Aquinas (1932)

OrdoPraedicatorum: Dominican Saints 101: St. Thomas Aquinas (27 JAN 12)