A Bionote of St. Albert the Great

ST. ALBERT THE GREAT

(ca. 1200-1280)

Patron Saint of Scientists

Born in the thirteenth century Germany, St. Albert the Great was still young when he went to Padua in Italy to devote himself to the study of the so-called "liberal arts": grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music, demonstrating characteristic interest in the natural sciences which was soon to become the favorite field for his specialization. Though his decision was gradual, he later joined the Order of Preachers. Albert’s intense relationship with God and the example of the holiness and preaching of the Dominican friars were the decisive factors that helped him to overcome every doubt and even to surmount his family's resistance to his vocation.

After his ordination to the priesthood, the brilliant St. Albert taught at various theological centers. He brought with him from Paris an exceptional student, St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). The sole merit of having been the teacher of St. Thomas would suffice to elicit profound admiration for St. Albert. A relationship of mutual esteem and friendship developed between these two great theologians, human attitudes that were very helpful in the development of this branch of knowledge. St. Albert was later elected as Provincial of the Teutonic Province, where he distinguished himself for the zeal with which he exercised this ministry, visiting the communities and constantly recalling his confreres to fidelity, to the teaching and example of St. Dominic. Eventually, Pope Alexander IV appointed Albert Bishop of Regensburg, where he succeeded in restoring peace and harmony, in reorganizing parishes and convents and in giving a new impetus to charitable activities. After four years, he returned to teaching, researching and writing. He played an important part in the Council of Lyons (1274), and he worked to clarify and defend the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas.

St. Albert the Great passed away in his room in Cologne, Germany in the year 1280. He was beatified in 1622 and was canonized in 1931, when Pope Pius XI proclaimed him ‘Doctor of the Church’. This was certainly an appropriate recognition of this great man of God and outstanding scholar, not only of the truths of the faith but of the many other branches of knowledge; indeed, with a glance at the titles of his very numerous works, we realize that there was something miraculous about his culture and that his encyclopedic interests led him not only to concern himself with philosophy and theology, but also with every other discipline then known, from physics to chemistry, from astronomy to minerology, from mathematics to psychology, from botany to zoology. For this reason, Pope Pius XII named him ‘Patron of the Enthusiasts of the Natural Sciences’, and also called him "Doctor universalis" precisely because of the vastness of his interests and knowledge.

Prayer to St. Albert the Great

O God our Father, | Fountain and Origin of all wisdom, | you made the bishop St. Albert | great in harmonizing human wisdom | with divine faith; | grant, | we beseech you, | that adhering to his magisterial teaching, | and through the advance of the sciences, | we may come to a deeper knowledge | and love of you, | per scientiam ad Dominum. | We ask the Blessed Mother Mary | to intercede on our behalf | to bring us closer to her Son Jesus | along with St. Albert the Great, | our patron saint. Amen.

St. Albert the Great, | pray for us!

Sources:

Weisheipl, James A., "The Life and Works of St. Albert the Great", in Albertus Magnus and the Sciences: Commemorative Essays, Studies and Texts, 49, Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1980.

Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience: St. Albert the Great, Vatican City, 24 March 2010.