On the first Saturday of every month, we will post the story of the saint of the month. For February, the saint is Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Thomas was born in 1225 in Italy. His family was nobility and when Thomas was very young, he was sent to school with the monks at a famous abbey called Monte Casino. Thomas was a large and tall person. Many called him a mountain or ox because of his physical strength. Thomas’ true strength was in his heart and mind because he was very smart and loved God very much. Thomas went to university and met the Dominican brothers and priests. He felt followed God’s calling and joined this group of priests. His family was not happy and brought Thomas home. They tried to convince him in many ways to stay and not become a priest, but finally Thomas’ faith and strong beliefs in God helped his family see that becoming a priest was his true calling in life. Thomas spent many years as a teacher in the universities because he was very smart. He wrote many books that people still use today to teach philosophy and theology. Thomas was gifted with a great mind and ability to explain complicated things to people in simple ways. He traveled all around Europe sharing this gift, meeting with kings and even the Pope would call him for advice. Thomas loved God with all his heart and he wrote two hymns which are now songs we still sing in Church today to honor Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. They are called the “Pange Lingua” which means “Our Bread” and Adoro Te which means “ I adore you”
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