Saints› Thomas Aquinas
January 28
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas de Aquino
1225–1274, Italy and France
Born to a noble family near Aquino in southern Italy, Thomas entered the Dominican Order against the strenuous opposition of his family — who reportedly held him captive for over a year in the family castle, hoping to dissuade him. He went on to study at Naples, Cologne (under Albertus Magnus), and Paris, where he spent most of his teaching career.
His Summa Theologiae, left unfinished at his death in 1274, attempts the most ambitious synthesis the Western Church has ever attempted: a complete account of God, creation, human action, Christ, and the sacraments, organized as questions and articles in scholastic form. He wrote the Summa contra Gentiles for missionaries, and the office and hymns for the feast of Corpus Christi (including Pange Lingua and Adoro Te Devote).
On 6 December 1273, after a mystical experience at Mass, he set aside his pen and never wrote again. Mihi videtur ut palea — it seems to me as straw, he said, comparing his work to what had been shown him.