St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) was a Catholic priest in the Dominican order and one of the most important medieval philosophers and theologians. A prolific writer of more than sixty works, Aquinas’s masterpiece is the Summa Theologica (Summary Treatise of Theology), written between 1265 and 1273.
Born in approximately 1225 to a noble family, Aquinas joined the Dominicans of Naples in 1243. After making his profession at Naples, he studied at the University of Cologne under the celebrated St. Albert the Great. After ordination, Aquinas received his doctoral degree at the University of Paris. He was canonized in 1323 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1567 by Pope Pius V.
Aquinas is the patron saint of all universities and students, and his feast day is January 28.
