Thomas Aquinas

Lore & Background

In 1245, Thomas was sent to study at the Faculty of the Arts at the University of Paris, where he most likely met Dominican scholar Albertus Magnus. When Albertus was sent to teach at the new studium generale at Cologne in 1248, Thomas followed him, declining Pope Innocent IV's offer to appoint him abbot of Monte Cassino as a Dominican. Albertus then appointed the reluctant Thomas magister studentium. Because Thomas was quiet and did not speak much, some of his fellow students thought he was slow. But Albertus prophetically exclaimed: '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 taught in Cologne as an apprentice professor, instructing students on the books of the Old Testament. In 1252, he returned to Paris to study for a master's degree in theology. In early 1256, Thomas was appointed by direct intervention of Pope Alexander IV as regent master in theology at Paris. During his tenure from 1256 to 1259, he wrote numerous works, including Quaestiones Disputatae de Veritate (Disputed Questions on Truth), a collection of twenty-nine disputed questions, and Contra impugnantes Dei cultum et religionem, a defense of the mendicant orders. His best-known work is the unfinished Summa Theologica (1265–1274), a comprehensive guide to the theology of the Catholic Church. His body of work also includes the Summa contra Gentiles (1259–1265), numerous commentaries on Christian Scripture and on Aristotle, and Eucharistic hymns which form a part of the Church's liturgy.

Reader's Guide

Thomas Aquinas is regarded as one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians and philosophers, and has been described as 'the most influential thinker of the medieval period.' His synthesis of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian principles, known as Thomism, has had a vast influence on Catholic thought and also on modern virtue ethics, aesthetics, and cognitive theory. He is a proponent of natural theology, arguing that God is the source of the light of natural reason and the light of faith. His Five Ways for proving the existence of God, his virtue ethics, and his sacramental theology are among his best-known ideas. As one of the 38 Doctors of the Church, he is known by multiple titles, including Doctor Angelicus ('Angelic Doctor'), Doctor Communis ('Universal Doctor'), and Doctor Humanitatis ('Doctor of Humanity'). His works, especially the Summa Theologica, remain central to the study of Catholic theology and Western philosophy.

Did You Know?

• At age five, Thomas began his early education at Monte Cassino, the oldest Benedictine monastery.
• While held prisoner by his family for almost a year, two of his brothers hired a prostitute to seduce him; Thomas drove her away wielding a burning log and fell into a mystical ecstasy.
• Albertus Magnus called Thomas 'the dumb ox' and prophesied that his teaching would one day produce a bellowing heard throughout the world.
• Thomas declined Pope Innocent IV's offer to appoint him abbot of Monte Cassino in order to follow Albertus Magnus to Cologne.
• Thomas's Eucharistic hymns form a part of the Church's liturgy.