The young Thomas, however, made different plans. His aristocratic family had planned for him to grow up to be the Abbot at Monte Cassino, a very prestigious role which would further decorate their lineage. Born to a noble family, he began his education at the famous Benedictine Abbey at Monte Cassino, near Rome, at the age of five. Saint Thomas was an Italian Catholic priest in the 13th century. Thomas, we herein offer a very brief introduction to the life of this indispensable Catholic theologian, and his most famous work the Summa Theologiae, and pray that in so doing Leo’s exhortation may again be heeded in our own day. Technical jargon as well as the logical structure of the saint’s work cause many to despair of understanding. Nevertheless, for the average Catholic sitting in the pews of the average parish, Aquinas remains distant and largely inaccessible in his own writings. Thomas, and many excellent books have been published for both academic and popular audiences. The early years of the 21st century have seen a tremendous growth of interest in the thought of St.

Indeed, while the neo-scholastic revival flourished for several decades in the wake of Leo’s encyclical Aeterni Patris, the “golden wisdom” of the Angelic Doctor has been conspicuously absent from many Catholic schools and even seminaries in the decades following the Second Vatican Council. These words of Leo XIII are no less certain today than when the Holy Father promulgated them 150 years ago. Thomas, and to spread it far and wide for the defense and beauty of the Catholic faith, for the good of society, and for the advantage of all the sciences.” “ WE exhort you, venerable brethren, in all earnestness to restore the golden wisdom of St.

Summa theologiae of st thomas aquinas