The Roman Catholic Church marks Friday, Jan. 28, the Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Santo Tomas de Aquino), one of the greatest and most influential Christian philosophers and theologians of all time.
A fiesta mass will be celebrated by Rev. Fr. Rafael T. Cruz at the St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Mangaldan, Pangasinan at 6:30 a.m.
On Sunday, Jan. 30, Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas will preside over a high mass in honor of the revered saint at 8:15 a.m.
Known as the patron saint of all Roman Catholic schools, a thanksgiving mass will also be celebrated in honor of its patron saint at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila, Asia’s oldest existing university.
Holy masses in honor of the revered Father of the Thomistic School of Philosophy and Theology will also be offered in Sto. Tomas, Aliaga, Nueva Ecija; and in Abucay, Bataan.
Also known as Doctor Angelicus, the Great Synthesizer, the Universal Teacher, and Doctor Communis, the popular Italian Dominican friar wrote more than 60 religious works, including the Summa Theologiae, one of the best theological books ever written.
In the year 1879, Pope Leo XIII directed that St. Thomas doctrines must be studied by all theology students and taught in all seminaries and Catholic universities.
Born in the year 1225 in Italy, St. Thomas was a Dominican priest. He preached in many places and converted thousands to the faith. He died in 1274 and was canonized by Pope John XXII on July 18, 1323. He was declared a Doctor of the Church.