“Saint Albert the Great reminds us that there is friendship between science and faith and that through their vocation to the study of nature, scientists can take an authentic and fascinating path of holiness.”
By Kimberly Bruce
Saint Albert the Great (feast day: Nov. 15), a Dominican scholar who lived during the 13th century, is one of only 37 Doctors of the Church. He is also amongst a renowned bunch of saints designated “Great” because of the significant contributions he made to the Church and his contemporary society.
Born into a noble family in Lauingen in Germany around the year 1200, he renounced his wealth at age 17 and entered the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). It is said that he received an apparition of the Blessed Mother Mary while still young, telling him that if he persevered in the ways of the Lord, he would obtain extraordinary intellectual graces, but that towards the end of his life, those graces would be taken away.
Teacher of Aquinas
After his studies, when he had been ordained a priest, he taught theology in various Dominican houses. He went to the University of Paris in 1240, where he earned his master’s degree. He lectured there and held one of the Dominican chairs in theology from 1245-1248. It was here that he taught another future Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas.
In 1248, Albert returned to Cologne, Germany, to open the first Dominican studium generale (medieval university).
Becoming Provincial of the German Dominicans in 1253, Albert was named bishop of Regensburg in 1260. Resigning from his post two years later, he returned to teaching and writing. Saint Albert’s works include his De Natura Boni (an early moral treatise), his Summa de Creaturis (analysis of creation and the nature of man), the Mariale (in praise of the Blessed Mother Mary), and a Summa Theologiae (summary of theology), among many other writings.
Albertus Magnus
Albert was a master in his day of chemistry, physics, astronomy, botany, geography, mineralogy, zoology, logic, rhetoric, ethics, economy, and mathematics. Due to his exceptional grasp of so many different subjects, he was hailed in his day as “Albertus Magnus,” “Doctor Universalis,” “Doctor Expertus,” and, quite simply, “the teacher of everything there is to know.” He was a wonder of his age.
As Provincial, he had responsibility for a vast territory in Central and Northern Europe. Having a knack for setting things in order spiritually, materially, and peacefully, Albert was often called upon to act as arbitrator in ecclesiastical disputes. He possessed great zeal for ministry, fidelity to his community, and truth. He was a man dedicated to prayer, charity, and love of the sciences. These charisms were apparent in his obedience, going where he was summoned and where the need was greatest.
Pope Alexander IV (1254-1261) even called upon Albert to come to Rome for a time to obtain from him his astute theological advice. He was summoned again by Pope Gregory X in 1274, during the Second Council of Lyons, to encourage union between the Latin and Greek Churches.
During his last two years on earth, St. Albert suffered loss of memory, just as Our Lady had predicted. Saint Albert died in the year 1280. He was declared a saint and Doctor of the Church in 1931 by Pope Pius XI.
Reconciliation and peace
At a Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square on March 24, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI said that, above all, St. Albert the Great was “a man of reconciliation and peace,” exemplifying the greatest charism: mercy.
Saint Albert also did much to show that faith and science were not in opposition with one another. On the contrary, Pope Benedict said of him:
With scientific rigour he studied Aristotle’s works, convinced that all that is truly rational is compatible with the faith revealed in the Sacred Scriptures. In other words, St. Albert the Great thus contributed to the formation of an autonomous philosophy, distinct from theology and united with it only by the unity of the truth.
Continuing, Benedict said, “Saint Albert the Great reminds us that there is friendship between science and faith and that through their vocation to the study of nature, scientists can take an authentic and fascinating path of holiness.”
We are prompted to see in St. Albert, said Pope Benedict, an example who, in his own words, wished “to desire all that I desire for the glory of God” in his pursuit of knowledge and the truth.
May we, too, desire all that we desire for the glory of God in our lives and call upon St. Albert’s intercession on our behalf.
Saint Albert the Great, Doctor of the Church, pray for us!
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