Saint Thomas Aquinas January 28
Saint Thomas Aquinas died in 1274. Since then, right up to this day, he is a major influence on philosophy, theology and law. That is no easy feat if you study medieval canon law and see just how many scholars in these areas are names we have never heard (except perhaps on Wikipedia). Just about anyone who reads on the Catholic Church has heard of Saint Thomas Aquinas. There are a multitude of parishes, schools and societies named after him. To bone up on Saint Thomas Aquinas and the law, know that he recognized exactly four kinds of law: eternal law, natural law, human law, and divine law. If you start reading Saint Thomas Aquinas now, you might finish in a dozen years from now.
My university for canon law studies is formally named The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, known conversationally as The Angelicum. It is a Dominican treasure named after one of their own. It is an excellent school for canon law, and, at the same time, a place you would really feel comfortable in. My favorite non-academic memory was the coffee bar. The most famous alum, after Saint Thomas Aquinas, is Saint Pope John Paul II. The old, married couple who ran the coffee bar had a sense of humor. They put a life size cut out of JPII in their coffee bar as soon as he was elected Pope. It stood at the end of the bar, flat against the wall. He was smiling and looked as if he was ready for an espresso. Selfies were not a thing then or I would have one now. I wish they had gotten a cut out of Saint Thomas Aquinas up there next to Saint Pope John Paul II. Now that would be worth a selfie too.
The Angelicum is closed on Saint Thomas’ Feast. There is a festival instead of class. It’s quite a day with music and food and anything but serious thinking. Saint Thomas Aquinas never got to celebrate his feast at the Angelicum but Saint Pope John Paul II did. Very old and very new men tied inseparably to the Angelicum and its traditions. What a great legacy. What a great place to study canon law.