St. Thomas Aquinas stands as one of the great giants among both intellectuals and prayerful disciples in the Catholic tradition.

He was born to nobility around 1225 in Aquino, Italy. He had several sisters and was the youngest of four sons. His youngest sister was killed by lightning one night while sleeping in the same room as Thomas. He remained unscathed, but was always afraid of storms during his life—he would often pass them by sitting in a church. He is patron saint against thunderstorms and sudden death.

As a young child, Thomas was educated at the nearby Monte Cassino monastery, whose abbot was a family relative. At the age of thirteen, he was sent to the University of Naples, where he met the Order of Preachers, the order founded by St. Dominic. He joined the community at the age of 19.

His family did not mind his commitment to a religious community—his mother had imagined him one-day becoming abbot of Monte Cassino—but they stridently opposed him joining a community that was so committed to poverty. They kidnapped him and kept him in confinement at home for two years, trying to dissuade him.

His brothers went so far as to hatch a plan to bring into his room a prostitute, to entice him to sin and leave his vocation. Thomas picked up a flaming piece of wood from the hearth and chased her out. During this time, Thomas began to study the Bible and learned much of it by heart. He was not persuaded to leave the Dominicans.

Finally, his family gave up and permitted him to return to his order. He was sent to complete his studies under St. Albert the Great and be ordained a priest at the University of Cologne. His classes there were full of clerics from all over the continent and discussions were lively. Thomas, being new, was humble and reserved, and his peers mistook him for unintelligent. They called him a “dumb ox” because of his hulking size.

That notion was soon dispelled as his intelligence began to shine. His teacher told the class, “We call Brother Thomas ‘the dumb ox,’ but I tell you that he will yet make his lowing heard to the ends of the earth.”

Thomas’ piety and devotion were even greater than his learning and he would spend hours in prayer. It was said that when he celebrated Mass, he would be overcome with emotion and fall into tears, utterly absorbed into the Eucharist. He often said that he learned more at the foot of the cross than he did from books.

Thomas received his doctorate and taught at the University of Paris and traveled in Italy with the pope’s court, preaching. He also began his large body of writing, which included commentaries on Scripture and philosophical works. St. Louis IX held him in great esteem and constantly asked for his advice. The University of Paris asked his opinion about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and his treatise in response was adopted by the universal Church and still informs our understanding today.

His writing was accompanied by devotional ecstasy in which he was enthralled in prayer. On one occasion, his body was lifted into the air and his brothers came in to marvel at the sight. Several times, he beheld Jesus speaking to him from a vision, saying, “You have written well of me, Thomas; what reward would you have?” Thomas would reply, “Nothing but yourself, Lord.”

He was recalled to Naples for his study and teaching, and on the feast of St. Nicholas one year, during Mass, he received a revelation that affected him so greatly that he left his great work, the Summa Theologiae, unfinished. “The end of my labors has come,” he said. “All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me.”

His greatest intellectual legacy was the way in which he used the thinking of Aristotle to explain God’s revelation and Church teaching, which resulted in a theological system that has served the Church for centuries. His Summa Theologiae, even unfinished, is the fullest body of theological teaching ever written. He was a thinker of enormous influence in the Church and the world, and his contributions ranged from philosophy and theology to prayers for Mass. Several hymns he wrote are still familiar to Catholics today. His prayer for students can be found on the FaithND prayercard page, where it can be personalized and shared. 

At the age of 50, he fell sick from a serious illness and died. He was declared a doctor of the Church after his canonization, a title given to 36 saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. He is the patron of all universities and schools, and his relics rest in the Basilica reliquary chapel.

He is depicted in several places on campus, including two statues in Alumni Hall—one stands on the outside of the dorm, and the other inside the hall chapel. He is also shown in the stained glass window in the chapel in the Eck Hall of Law. 

St. Thomas Aquinas, "Angelic Doctor," patron saint of universities and schools—pray for us!

To learn even more about Saint Thomas Aquinas, watch this video lecture from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame.