St Albert the Great

Feastday November 15 1206-1280 Albert was born in a castle on the Danube River in Swabia (southwest Germany) and was the son of a military nobleman. He studied at the University of Padua in Italy and there he decided to become a Dominican Priest. His uncle tried to change his mind but Albert would not as he felt that this was what God wanted. His father, the count of Bollstadt, was very angry. The Dominicans thought that he would force Albert to come back home and transferred him to a location farther away. But his father did not come after him. St. Albert loved to study. The natural sciences, especially physics, geography and biology, interested him. He also loved to study his Catholic religion and the Bible. He used to observe the ways of animals and write down what he saw, just as scientists do today. He wrote a great number of books on these subjects. He also wrote on philosophy and was a popular teacher in different schools. One of St. Albert's pupils was the great St. Thomas Aquinas. It is said that Albert found out about the death of St. Thomas directly from God. He had guided St. Thomas in beginning his great works in philosophy and theology. He also defended his teachings after Thomas died. As St. Albert grew older, he became more holy. Before, he had expressed his deep thoughts in his writings. Now he expressed them in his whole way of living for God.