Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Scientists
Saint Albert the Great
Bishop and Doctor of the Church († 1280) Feast: November 15
“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” (Pope Benedict XVI). Albert was born in 1206 in Germany. As a young man he attended the University of Padua. Formed in the seven liberal arts, he soon demonstrated a special interest in the natural sciences. Albert joined the Dominicans, was ordained a priest, and began to teach at various Dominican centers of learning. His most famous student was Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Albert studied and wrote about seemingly everything: theology, philosophy, astronomy, mineralogy, botany, zoology, chemistry, physics. He drew upon Aristotelian philosophy to argue for the possibility of natural science as a truly rational study of the physical world—a possibility generally discounted by the Platonism then largely in vogue. His methods were also based on personal observation, description, and classification.
Albert was appointed bishop, but soon retired. In 1278, his memory began to fail, possibly due to Alzheimer’s. He died in 1280 and was effectively canonized in 1931 when Pope Pius XI declared him Doctor of the Church.
Almighty Father, through the prayers of Saint Albert, help us to recognize as he did that “every science and knowledge proceeds from God.”
