St Albert the Great

Life

Saint Albert the Great, also known as Albertus Magnus, was born sometime between the years of 1193 and 1206 at the castle of Lauingen in Swabia, Germany. He was the eldest son the Count of Bollstadt and came from a very rich and prominent family. He as at least on younger brother named Henry and a sister who both became Dominicans in Albert’s footsteps. His early childhood was spent at the castle of Bollstadt and his education was from private tutoring at home. From an early age, Albert had a keen observation; playing in the nearby woods and hunting hawks and hounds.

At approximately the age of sixteen, Albert was sent to the University of Padua in Italy. This particular university was chosen because it was the predominant liberal arts school of its day which Albert had expressed a profound interest in. It was also the locale of an uncle of his who was a canon there. Albert excelled in all his courses and seemed to be on his way to becoming a scholar and eventual man of wealth. He did become a great scholar but his aspirations of being wealthy took a back seat when he heard a speech given by the Blessed Jordan of Saxony, second Master General of the Dominican Order (Order of Preachers, O.P.). The speech caught Albert’s attention. He was attracted to the Dominican’s evangelical poverty, their zeal for preaching, their constant study of the sacred sciences, their tender devotion to Mary, and their heroic dedication to the service of God for the salvation of their fellow men.

Albert underwent a discernment process. He was concerned over whether he was going to be able to persevere. His uncle instilled more doubt about becoming a Dominican because he did not want his nephew to join the order and went so far as to take Albert on a trip to Venice to try to convince him otherwise. When they returned, however, Albert heard yet another sermon by Blessed Jordan that seemed to speak directly to him. The decisive factor in his vocation was the invitation of the Virgin Mary herself, who appeared to him when he was praying before her image in the Dominican church.

Albert was received into the Order in 1223, but his early doubts did not seem to stop there. Albert astonishingly had trouble keeping up with the education of the Order. He easily grasped anything that was concrete which he could take apart and study but had much trouble understanding the abstract sciences. Coming to the realization that it was too much for him, he decided to run away. He set up a ladder outside his room and said one last Hail Mary before his departure. At this exact moment, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and bestowed on him the gift of science. As a result of the vision, Albert was able to understand the previously foreign abstract sciences and established a profound love and reverence for the Virgin Mary. It would be the last time that Albert would consider leaving the Order. He applied himself with ardor to his studies, profane and religious, so that he would later be able to defeat adversaries of the faith on their own ground and be a shining light to the Church. He became outstanding among his brothers for his virtue and his wisdom, the two great passions of his life.

Albert was ordained a priest in 1228 and was then sent to teach in Cologne. In Cologne he became renowned for his critical lectures on the Sentences of Peter Lombard and would further become known as the greatest German scholar of the Middle Ages. Albert would go on to teach in Hildesheim, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Regensburg (Ratisbon), Strasbourg and again in Cologne. Saint Albert held his vow of poverty with extreme importance. He always traveled on foot, pilgrim wise with staff and scrip, taking no provisions bur relying on the charity of the faithful, and he demanded a similar spirit of poverty from his brothers.

Between the years of 1240 and 1248, Albert was at the monastery of Saint-Jacques in Paris. Here, Albert earned his doctorate in theology in 1245 from the University of Paris. In the Middle Ages, the University of Paris was the theological center of Christendom. To have studied there, and still more to have received the bachelors or master’s degree, was the highest distinction in the academic world of the time. More importantly, it was hear in Paris that he first encountered the quite, youthful student, Saint Thomas Aquinas who was known as the “Dumb Ox.” Albert was one of the first to recognize Thomas’ brilliance and great potential and responded with insight, “You call him a Dumb Ox; I tell you this Dumb Ox shall bellow so loud that this bellowings will fill the world.” Albert took him under his wing and became a lifelong friend, companion, and master of Thomas. For the following five years, the two were inseparable. They studied and traveled together where in Cologne, Albert helped adapt the Scholastic