Who is St. Thomas Aquinas?
At the Mass of the Holy Spirit held on September 15, 2002, Bishop Pepe blessed an icon (image) of St. Thomas Aquinas. Responding to a request from the Newman Pastoral Ministry Team, Bishop Pepe named St. Thomas Aquinas, the great 13th Century Dominican Theologian, as the Patron of the UNLV Catholic Newman Community. Here is a basic biography of our patron saint.
St. Thomas was born to noble Italian lineage in the first part of the thirteenth century. Early in life he was shy and was named the "Dumb Ox" by his teachers and peers because of his size and reserved nature.
Thomas joined the Dominican Order, devoting himself to study and prayer. He was committed to Christ and the Church, especially the Eucharist, and was granted by God many special revelations and mystical visions.
Throughout his life, Thomas also wrote prayers, musical hymns and numerous theological treatises on nearly every area of Christian belief including the Christian virtues. Perhaps most well known for his work Sumnia Theologiae, Thomas was revolutionary for his time by using the ancient writings of Aristotle as a philosophical structure through which to express and understand Christian truth.
Thomas died at age forty-nine, leaving behind him a great legacy of scholarly writing and personal holiness. Canonized in 1323, Thomas, the “Dumb Ox," is today thought to be one of the greatest theologians of all time. Moreover, he has had bestowed on him the rare title Doctor of the Church and is honored as the patron saint of all schools, colleges and universities, and students.