Thomas Aquinas

=== Doctor of the Church ===
[[Pope Pius V]] proclaimed St. Thomas Aquinas a [[Doctor of the Church]] on 15 April 1567, <ref>{{cite book |last=Torrell |first=Jean-Pierre |translator-last1=Minerd |translator-first1=Matthew K. |translator-last2=Royal |translator-first2=Robert |translator-link2=Robert Royal (author) |date=2023 |title=Saint Thomas Aquinas, Vol. 1: The Person and His Work |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gvi0EAAAQBAJ |location= |publisher=[[The Catholic University of America Press]] |page=376 |isbn=978-0-8132-3560-8}}</ref> and ranked his feast with those of the four great Latin fathers: [[Ambrose]], [[Augustine of Hippo]], [[Jerome]] and [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory]].<ref name="britannica-250" /> At the [[Council of Trent]], Thomas had the honour of having his ''Summa Theologiae'' placed on the altar alongside the Bible and the [[Decretals]].{{sfn|Küng|1994|p=112<!--assumed from original ref name-->}}<ref name="Mullady">{{cite web |url= http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/guests/brianmullady/thomasaquinas.asp |title=The Angelic Doctor – Thomas Aquinas |last= Mullady |first=Brian |year=2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081007031948/http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/guests/brianmullady/thomasaquinas.asp |archive-date=7 October 2008 |access-date=11 June 2011}}</ref>

In his [[encyclical]] of 4 August 1879, ''[[Aeterni Patris]]'', [[Pope Leo XIII]] stated that Thomas Aquinas's theology was a definitive exposition of Catholic doctrine. Thus, he directed the clergy to take the teachings of Thomas as the basis of their theological positions. Leo XIII also decreed that all Catholic seminaries and universities must teach Thomas's doctrines, and where Thomas did not speak on a topic, the teachers were "urged to teach conclusions that were reconcilable with his thinking." In 1880, Thomas Aquinas was declared the patron saint of all Catholic educational establishments.<ref name="britannica-250" />

On 29 June 1923, on the VI centenary of his canonisation, [[Pope Pius XI]] dedicated the encyclical ''[[Studiorum Ducem]]'' to him.

The [[Second Vatican Council]], with the decree ''[[Optatam Totius]]'' (on the formation of priests, at No. 15), proposed an authentic interpretation of the popes' teaching on Thomism, requiring that the theological formation of priests be done with Thomas Aquinas as teacher.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651028_optatam-totius_en.html|quote=Next, in order that they may illumine the mysteries of salvation as completely as possible, the students should learn to penetrate them more deeply with the help of speculation, under the guidance of St. Thomas, and to perceive their interconnections.|title=Optatam Totius}}</ref>

The encyclical ''[[Fides et ratio]]'' of [[Pope John Paul II]] described Thomas as "a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091998_fides-et-ratio.html|title=Fides et ratio (14 September 1998)}} (at No. 43)</ref>

[[Pope Benedict XV]] declared: "This (Dominican) Order{{nbsp}}... acquired new luster when the Church declared the teaching of Thomas to be her own and that Doctor, honoured with the special praises of the Pontiffs, the master and patron of Catholic schools."<ref>[[Pope Benedict XV|Benedict XV]] Encyclical [https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xv/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xv_enc_29061921_fausto-appetente-die_en.html ''Fausto appetente die''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221101408/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xv/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xv_enc_29061921_fausto-appetente-die_en.html |date=21 February 2014 }} 29 June 1921, AAS 13 (1921), 332; [[Pius XI]] Encyclical ''Studiorum Ducem'' §11, 29 June 1923, AAS 15 (1923), cf. AAS 17 (1925) 574; [[Paul VI]], 7 March 1964 AAS 56 (1964), 302 (Bouscaren, vol. VI, pp. 786–788).</ref>