St. Thomas Aquinas(1225-1274), was a highly influential philosopher and theologian. He is regarded as one of the greatest theologians of the Catholic church, and had written many works on philosophy and theology. The life and work of Thomas Aquinas truly began when he was a young man of nineteen.
Like I stated above his story truly took off when he was nineteen, but before this he was attending the university of Naples. When he was nineteen he became a Dominican. His family who was rather influential, highly disapproved of his life choice, to the point that they imprisoned him for a full year. But eventually he was let out; and he went straight back to being a Dominican.
He was insulted and mistreated for this but that did not stop him. He studied in Paris; and then taught at Cologne, Paris, Bologna, Rome, and Naples. He was a pretty great teacher, and was also an assistant to three Popes. He even received an offer to become Archbishop of Naples, from Pope Clement IV; which the Pope withdrew from after noticing that Thomas Aquinas preferred his intellectual labors. But even though he had a legacy as a teacher and as an assistant of three Pope’s, his greatest legacy was the one of writing.
By the end of Thomas Aquinas’s life he had written eight and a half million words, which is rather astounding. He wrote many works on philosophy and theology. Some of his most popular works include: Summa Theologica, Summa Contra Gentiles, etc. He also attempted to prove the existence of God in several of his written works. As you may be thinking that Thomas Aquinas only wrote about Philosophy, he also wrote some hymns too, an example of which was the Tantum Ergo.
In conclusion, St Thomas Aquinas is best known for being a philosopher and theologian. He wrote many works on philosophy, theology, and even hymns; his writing was his greatest legacy. This was Thomas Aquinas’s life, work, and legacy.
The Dreamer 