St. Thomas Aquinas Biography

St. Thomas Aquinas, also called the Universal Teacher and the Christian Apostle, was born at the end of 1226 and died in 1274. His feast day is January 28th and he is the patron saint of students and all universities. It is unknown who beatified Thomas, but he was canonized by Pope John XXII in 1323. He began his education at the age of five years old. When he eventually went to study at the University in Naples, he was greatly influenced by famous philosophers. He also began to learn more about the Dominican order and decided to join. His mother disliked this and forced his brothers to kidnap and keep Thomas captive, during which time two of his brothers sent a prostitute to break his vow of celibacy. Legend states that Thomas drove the woman away with a fire iron and was visited that night by angels who strengthened his resolve. Eventually his mother decided to save the family name by arranging for Thomas to escape. She reasoned it would be more acceptable for him to run off than for the family to allow his actions. While earning his master's degree, Thomas hardly spoke and his peers believed he was delayed. That was when Dominican scholar Albertus Mangus prophetically said, You call him the dumb ox, but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world. Thomas later worked as an apprentice professor and wrote several philosophical books and was eventually pronounced regent master in theology, then appointed general preacher. Thomas died on March 7, 1274, during a commentary on Song of Songs. His remains were placed in the Church of the Wachowin in Toulouse on January 28, 1369, where they can still be found today. Following his canonization, St. Thomas' original feast day was March 7, the day of his death, but because the date often falls within Lent, in 1969 his feast day was changed to January 28, the date his relics were moved to Toulouse. Later, Pope Pius V declared St. Thomas a doctor of the Church, saying Thomas was the most brilliant light of the Church. To learn more about St. Thomas, visit catholic.org. And if St. Thomas inspires you, or someone you know, shop for his items by clicking on the catholicshopping.com link below for a one-of-a-kind shopping experience.