St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

St. Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor: ca. 1206-1280 A.D.

Feast day, November 15

Born of noble background in Germany
St. Albert the Great was a German, born in the family castle of Lauingen, on the upper Danube, in Swabia, Germany, around the year 1206 A.D. His father was the Count of Bollstädt, a powerful and wealthy ruler. In 1220 A.D., St. Albert was sent to an uncle in Padua so he can be educated in the University of Padua - a renowned center of the liberal arts at the time. In Padua, Albert was influenced by the Dominicans, that in 1222 A.D., when he heard the sermons of Blessed Jordan of Saxony - the one who succeeded Saint Dominic as head of the Order of Friars Preachers (the Dominicans) - Albert entered the Order as one of their postulants. This angered Albert's father, who heard of it, and wanted to remove his son from the Order by force. The Dominicans, however, discreetly moved Albert to another friary, probably at Cologne, where he finished his ecclesiastical studies, and then was ordained a priest.

Teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas
While teaching and studying at Cologne in 1228 A.D., then at Hildesheim, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Regensburg, and Strasbourg, St. Albert soon developed a widespread reputation for his learning and intellect. He also went to teach and study at the University of Paris, where he received his doctorate in 1245 A.D. Then he was named regent of the newly established school, the studia generalia, at Cologne in 1248 A.D. Among his students at Paris and Cologne was St. Thomas Aquinas, whose genius he early perceived and proclaimed. St. Thomas Aquinas was to be St. Albert's friend and comrade in intellect until St. Thomas' death in 1274 A.D.

In defense of the Mendicant Orders
In 1254 A.D., St. Albert was named provincial of the Dominican Order. At about that time also, the mendicant orders of the Franciscans and the Dominicans, were being attacked by William of St. Armour, as not having a legitimate right to teach in the University of Paris. In 1256 A.D., as both St. Thomas Aquinas (Dominican) and St. Bonaventure (Franciscan) were doing their part to defend their religious orders, St. Albert traveled to Rome to support the two from there. St. Albert's mission was successful, because Pope Alexander IV condemned William of St. Armour. While in Rome, the Pope also noticed the role that St. Albert played for the mendicant orders, that he asked St. Albert to become master of the sacred palace and his personal theologian - an office instituted by Saint Dominic and always filled by a Dominican.

Settling his headquarters at Cologne
In 1257 A.D., St. Albert resigned from his position as provincial to devote himself to study. Then in 1259 A.D., with Peter of Tarentasia and Thomas Aquinas, they drew up a new study curriculum for the Dominicans. Although Albert wanted just to teach and write at this time, against his wishes, he was appointed bishop of Regensburg in 1260 A.D. by Pope Alexander IV. After two years, he resigned from this post as bishop and then went to resume his teaching at Cologne. Cologne was then to remain his headquarters for the rest of his life, although he was also called in to make several journeys in behalf of the Church. In 1263 A.D., Pope Urban IV (who succeeded Pope Alexander IV) appointed him to be papal legate to preach in Germany and Bohemia on behalf of a Crusade to the Holy Land.

A voluminous writer of the sciences and theology
A long period in St. Albert's life followed, during which he was able to write a lot. He produced an amazing number of books on every topic of learning known at the time: natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, ethics, economics, politics, mineralogy, anthropology, biology, zoology, botany, weaving, agriculture, geography, navigation, and most especially, philosophy and theology. Though in the light of modern science St. Albert's scientific knowledge would be considered primitive, he is still basically the only one (except for Franciscan Roger Bacon), who seriously investigated the sciences since the time of the ancient Greeks.

Among his writings of a strictly religious nature, St. Albert wrote a treatise on mysticism, a commentary on the Gospel of Luke, and a treatise on the Blessed Sacrament. St. Albert saw in the Eucharist the great sacrament of unity - not only between Christ and the individual, but also among all who participate in the sacrament. The brilliance in these spiritual writings and all his written works (filling thirty-eight volumes), brought St. Albert the title "Universal Doctor", conferred on him by his own contemporaries. It was also his own peers who dubbed him Albert the Great.

Last years and death
In 1274 A.D., St. Albert was active in the Council of Lyons, working for the reunion of the Greek Church with Rome. He also brilliantly defended his disciple Thomas Aquinas (who already passed away) and his philosophical position against Bishop Stephen Tempier and a group of theologians at the University of Paris in 1277 A.D. He was partially successful in this effort since he was not able to prevent the University of Paris from condemning twelve of St. Thomas' theses. In 1278 A.D., a memory lapse progressed into two years of ailing health and mind (probably Alzheimer's Disease), which led to his death in Cologne on November 15, 1280 A.D.

Though he was never beatified, St. Albert was canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1931 A.D. The Pope did this by means of a "Decretal Letter" instead of the usual canonization. St. Albert the Great was also declared the patron of scientists and philosophers. The Church celebrates his feast on November 15.

References of this article

• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
• The Doctors of the Church vol 1, by John F. Fink
• A Year With the Saints, by Don Bosco Press, Inc.
• Saints for Our Times, by Ransom