Saint Thomas Aquinas (1476), Carlo Crivelli · public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

His story

Born to a noble family at Roccasecca near Aquino, Italy, he joined the new, poor Dominican order against his family's wishes. He studied under Albert the Great and taught in Paris and Italy. His Summa Theologiae united faith and Aristotle's philosophy and remains a cornerstone of Catholic theology.

Path to sainthood

Canonised on 18 July 1323 by Pope John XXII in Avignon. Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V in 1567.

Patronages

Students, universities, Catholic schools, theologians, and pencil makers.

Trivia

• His family kidnapped him and held him for about a year to stop him becoming a Dominican.
• Fellow students called the quiet, heavy-set Thomas "the Dumb Ox". Albert the Great replied that this ox would one day "bellow so loud his bellowing will fill the world."
• After an experience during Mass in December 1273 he stopped writing, saying everything he had written seemed "like straw". The Summa was left unfinished.

Sources

• Benedict XVI, General Audience on St Thomas Aquinas (2 Jun 2010), vatican.va
• Leo XIII, encyclical Aeterni Patris (1879), vatican.va
• Britannica: St Thomas Aquinas
• Catholic Encyclopedia: St Thomas Aquinas

Fact-checked on October 15, 2026 against New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia), Vatican documents and news reports. Britannica links are given for further reading. Feast days follow the General Roman Calendar.

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