Doctor of the Church (1225-1274)

Thomas was born at Roccasecca, in the county of Aquino. He was sent to the Benedictine Monastery at Monte Cassino to receive a good upbringing and to be initiated into monastic life (as the youngest son, he was expected to follow a career in the church). But Thomas did not choose the Benedictine life.

In 1239 he took Dominican vows and enrolled at Naples for advanced general studies in the order. In 1245, he was sent by his superiors to Paris, where he studied under St. Albert le Grand, whom he also followed to Cologne in 1248.

He himself taught at Paris from 1252 until 1259; he returned to Italy to teach at Anagni, at the Orvieto and finally at Rome. He taught again at Paris from 1269 to 1272 before returning to teach at Naples.

In 1274, while on his way to France to take part in the Council of Lyon by order of Pope Gregory X, he fell seriously ill during the journey and died on March 7th at Fossanova Abbey.

His biographies underline his exceptional devotion to Mary that he began to foster from childhood. Once part of the order of preaching monks, he exuded such an extraordinary atmosphere of Marian piety that it became the hallmark of the order from its inception. Of course, the personal influence of his great teacher St. Albert le Grand must not be underestimated.

His first biographer, Gugliemo de Tocca, summed him up for us like this:

"The Virgin named him her doctor, enriching him with that singular understanding and purity that sets him apart."

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   L. Gambero
Maria nel pensiero dei teologi latini medievali
Ed. San Paolo, 2000