750 Years

Today is the 750th anniversary of the death of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Of old (and in my Benedictine Ordo), today was his feast day, but in the calendar reform it was moved to January, presumably so that it would be outside of Lent.

The saint died at Fossanova Abbey in Italy on March 7, 1274, and yesterday, his (probable) relics were carried in procession through the streets of the nearby town in Priverno.

It’s difficult to overestimate the influence of this great Doctor of the Church. The theology he developed and expounded on in his writings, including various disputations and commentaries, comes to its fruition in his masterworks, Summa Theologiae and Summa contra Gentiles,

Until the late twentieth century, virtually all Catholic Universities throughout the world had a chair for Thomistic Studies. So sublime are his teachings, that he is known as Doctor Angelicus.

Although he was probably (with Augustine) one of the two most brilliant theologians of the last two thousand years, he wrote almost nothing for the last few months of his life. After celebrating Mass on the feast of Saint Nicholas, he had a vision that profoundly brought him closer to the Lord and put his life’s work into perspective. “I can do no more,” he said. “Everything I have written seems to me as straw in comparison with what I have seen.”

Thomas himself focused his own spirituality firmly on the Eucharist. As he lay dying, preparing himself for his final Communion, he wrote his last testament:

“I receive you, price of my soul’s redemption. I receive you, viaticum of my pilgrimage, for love of whom I have studied, watched and labored. I have preached you. I have taught you. Never have I said anything against you, and if I have done so, it is through ignorance, and I am not stubborn in my error. If I have taught wrongly concerning this sacrament or the others, I submit it to the judgment of the Holy Roman Church, in obedience to which I now leave this life.” 

The Church is celebrating a three-year jubilee in honour of the saint, specifically celebrating these dates:

• 2023 – 700th anniversary of his canonization.
• 2024 – 750th anniversary of his death.
• 2025 – 800th anniversary of his birth.