750th Anniversary of the Death of Saint Thomas Aquinas

Tommaso d’Aquino, philosopher, saint, and Doctor of the Church, is among the figures who have most profoundly influenced Christian thought. Born in 1224 (or 1225) into a noble family, Thomas began his philosophical studies in Naples, during which he first came into contact with the Dominican Order (a mendicant order). He decided to join it despite opposition from his family, who wished to steer him toward a different career, either civil or religious. His profuse work, faithful to the principle “Contemplata aliis tradere” (to share with others the fruits of one's own reflection) exalts the role of reason, a necessary support of faith itself in the search for truth. In his recent message to the participants at a conference on this fundamental figure in the history of the Church, Pope Francis expressed himself as follows: ‘The work of Thomas demonstrates both his commitment to understanding the revealed Word of God in all its dimensions and, at the same time, his remarkable openness to every truth accessible to human reason’. And, finally, underlining its topicality: “Thomas” trust in a natural law written in the human heart can offer fresh and valuable insights to our globalised world, dominated by legal positivism and casuistry, even as it continues to search for solid foundations for a just and humane social order'.The painting, dated around 1335, was created a few years after the canonization of Saint Tommaso, which took place in Avignon in 1323.