Saint Thomas Aquinas
- Feast
- 28 January
- Patron of
- students, universities, Catholic schools, philosophers and theologians
Thomas was born around 1225 near Aquino in southern Italy, into a noble family who held him captive for about a year to stop him joining the Dominicans. He persisted, studied under Albert the Great and taught in Paris and Italy. His Summa Theologiae, left unfinished, became the classic account of Catholic teaching. He died in 1274, not yet fifty.
Months before his death, after an experience at Mass, he stopped writing, saying that all he had written seemed like straw. He also wrote the hymns for Corpus Christi, including the Tantum Ergo. Painters show him as a heavy Dominican friar in black and white, with a book, a pen and a shining sun on his breast.
For a student, a reader or anyone with hard questions, Thomas shows that faith and reason are friends. His humility at the end, calling all his work straw beside what he had seen, is as much a lesson as his books.
The print of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Questions
When is the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas?
The feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas is kept on 28 January.
What is Saint Thomas Aquinas the patron saint of?
Saint Thomas Aquinas is the patron saint of students, universities, Catholic schools, philosophers and theologians.
Is Saint Thomas Aquinas a good confirmation saint?
For a student, a reader or anyone with hard questions, Thomas shows that faith and reason are friends. His humility at the end, calling all his work straw beside what he had seen, is as much a lesson as his books.
Is Saint Thomas Aquinas the patron saint of people named Thomas?
Yes. Saint Thomas Aquinas is the traditional name saint for anyone called Thomas, Tomás and Tommaso, and the feast on 28 January is their name day.
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Other patron saints
AgnesAnneAnthony of PaduaAugustine of HippoBenedict of NursiaBernadette SoubirousCarlo AcutisCatherine of SienaCeciliaChristopherClare of AssisiDominicDymphnaFaustina KowalskaFrancis of AssisiFrancis XavierGeorgeGerard MajellaGianna Beretta MollaIgnatius of LoyolaJoan of ArcJohn of the CrossJohn Paul IIJohn the BaptistJosephJosephine BakhitaJuan DiegoJude ThaddeusKateri TekakwithaLucyMartin de PorresMary MagdaleneMaximilian KolbeMichael the ArchangelMonicaNicholasPadre PioPatrickPaulPeregrine LaziosiPeterPier Giorgio FrassatiRita of CasciaSebastianTeresa of ÁvilaTeresa of CalcuttaThérèse of LisieuxJeromeCatherine of AlexandriaMartin of Tours