The 36 Doctors Of The Church | Part 3: The 11 Medieval Doctors

by February, History of the Church, Saints

Today we present Part 3 of our series on the Doctors of the Church, having begun our list with Part 1, the Eight Ecumenical Doctors – four from the West and four from the East. In Part 2, we brought you the remaining eight Patristic Era Doctors. The eleven that follow today are called the Medieval Doctors, or the Doctors of the Middle Ages.

Without further ado, we present Church #17-27:

17. St. Bede the Venerable

St. Bede Quote Church Doctors

Lived 673-735. A Benedictine monk, St. Bede is the only Englishman to be named Doctor of the Church.

Patron of English writers and historians.

Feast Day: May 25

18. St. Peter Damian

St. Peter Damian Church Doctor

Lived 1007-1072. Another Benedictine monk, renowned for his asceticism and his battles against Church corruption.

Feast Day: February 21

19. St. Anselm of Canterbury

Lived 1033-1109. Of northern Italian origins, but ascended to the rank of Archbishop of Canterbury, England. Considered the Church’s first “Scholastic” for his philosophical work.

Feast Day: April 21

20. St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Bernard Church Doctor

Lived 1090-1153. A French Cistercian abbot said to have been endowed with the gift of miracles.

Patron of the Cistercians, Burgundy, beekeepers and candlemakers.

Feast Day: August 20

21. St. Hildegard of Bingen

St. Hildegard of Bingen Doctor of the Church

Lived 1098-1179. A German Benedictine abbess and mystic, known for her visions, music and poetry.

Feast Day: September 17

22. St. Anthony of Padua

St. Anthony Doctor of the Church

Lived 1195-1231. Born in Portugal, he began religious life as a Benedictine but left to join the newly formed Franciscan Order.

Patron of lost things.

Feast Day: June 13

23. St. Albert the Great

St. Albert the Great Church Doctor

Lived 1200-1280. A German Dominican and the teacher of the great St. Thomas Aquinas. A voluminous writer on topics ranging from geography to philosophy, law, friendship, astronomy and love.

Patron of scientists, philosophers, medical technicians, and the natural sciences.

Feast Day: November 15

24. St. Bonaventure

Lived 1221-1274. A Franciscan priest known as the “seraphic doctor.”

Feast Day: July 15

25. St. Thomas Aquinas

Lived 1225-1274. A Dominican priest known for his intense devotion to purity, his towering intellect, for integrating Aristotelian philosophy with Catholic thought, especially through his magnum opus, the Summa Theologiae.

Patron of students and universities.

Feast Day: January 28

26.  St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine of Siena Church Doctor

Lived 1347-1379. A Third Order (lay) Dominican and alleged stigmatist. In great holy boldness, she traveled to Avignon to convince Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome.

Patron of fire prevention.

Feast Day: April 29

27. St. Gregory of Narek

St. Gregory of Narek Doctors of the Church

Lived 951-1003. 10th Century Armenian monk and poet best known for his literary book of 95 prayers called the “Book of Lamentations.” The most recently declared Doctor of the Church (2015 by Pope Francis).

Feast Day: February 27

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