Life
St. Thomas Aquinas was a Catholic priest, Dominican friar, theologian, and philosopher. He wrote and taught during what is known as the high medieval period. He held a Chair as Master of Theology at the University of Paris from 1256-1259 and again from 1269-1272. Around the end of his first assignment as Master of Theology at Paris he began one of his most well-known works, the Summa Contra Gentiles, which he authored, in part, to aid in training missionaries. A chief aim of the work was to show how far human reason can proceed in knowledge of God without reliance on divine revelation. Aquinas began his most important work, the Summa Theologiae, in 1266, which was left unfinished at the time of his death on March 7th, 1274. Aquinas was canonized a saint by the Catholic Church on
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Citation: Pawl, Timothy. "Saint Thomas Aquinas". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 August 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=135, accessed 20 April 2024.]
