Portuguese 
English 
Chinese 
Dutch 
Arabic 
Spanish 
Russian 
French 
Italian 
German 
Japanese 
Ernest Board (1877-1934), “Albertus Magnus Teaches in the Streets of Paris.” / Credit: Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0
National Catholic Register, Nov 15, 2025 / 04:00 am (CNA).
St. Albert the Great was considered the “wonder and the miracle of his age” by his contemporaries. He was an assiduous Dominican whose accomplishments and gifts to the Church are difficult to exaggerate.
Born around 1206 and joining the Order of Preachers in 1223, Albert quickly became a master of almost every academic subject. Notwithstanding the standards of his own time, he became a pioneer of the natural sciences — both empirical and philosophical. His teachings on nature and theology were revolutionary, and he captured the attention of a young and taciturn Dominican — St. Thomas Aquinas.
While surpassing all his contemporaries in intellect and cogency, it was his own student who managed to shine brighter than he. If Albert blazed the path, then it was Aquinas who reached and held the summit. Then, tragically, when the quick flash of Aquinas’ life was over, it was Albert who defended him and held him up as a beacon of light for the whole Church. St. Albert the Great was a teacher, a bishop, and a forerunner to some of the greatest theological gifts the Church has received.
After joining the Dominicans, Albert went to Paris in 1245 and successfully received his doctorate. He then began teaching in Paris and then in Cologne, Germany. It was during his time in Cologne that he noticed a young man named Thomas. The quiet student was nicknamed “Dumb Ox” by his peers, because of his weight and the mistaken notion that his silence was due to an obtuse mind. In time, Albert realized the great acumen of the young man, and Albert took him on as a disciple.
Deus e a natureza
What drew Aquinas — and the praise and condemnation of others — to Albert was his exhaustive study of nature and God. Though it was over a millennium since the birth of Christ, the Church still struggled to define nature and its role in creation. In essence, different theological camps disagreed on how to communicate a supposedly autonomous nature — with its own laws and movements — and an omnipotent God.
If it snows, is God making it snow or are there self-moving natural causes for the snow? Though a simplistic example, the relationship between God and nature is a deciding point between theology and science or even faith and reason. Oftentimes, certain groups worried that granting nature independent causes would detract from God’s glory or resurrect pagan ideals.
At the center of many related controversies was the pagan philosopher Aristotle. The writings of Aristotle had come originally to Catholicism through Jewish and Islamic scholars, which detrimentally imported a good deal of erroneous commentary. The errors — which ranged from a misunderstanding of Aristotle to thinking Aristotle was infallible — colored the Catholic mind against the Greek philosopher on many counts.
O espírito incansável de Alberto esforçou-se por mostrar que o relato de Aristóteles sobre a natureza poderia importar um grande serviço à Igreja e à sua teologia. Embora tenha escrito um capítulo inteiro intitulado «Os Erros de Aristóteles», Alberto mostrou que os princípios articulados na filosofia natural de Aristóteles podiam ser harmoniosamente colocados no cosmos descrito pelas Escrituras.
A Igreja e a ciência
O primeiro grande dom que o catolicismo herdou das riquezas da busca de Santo Alberto é a ideia de que a Igreja e a ciência não estão em guerra umas com as outras. Embora a natureza se mova pelas suas próprias leis, o Autor dessas leis é o mesmo Autor da Sagrada Escritura — esta posição é uma grande afirmação da crença numa harmonia entre fé e razão.
Os fundamentos filosóficos para a Igreja discutir questões como a evolução, a idade da terra, a psicologia, as origens do universo, etc., todos remetem à erudição inicial de Santo Alberto Magno. O conceito de que a natureza possui suas próprias causas, e que essas causas poderiam ser estudadas por meio de experimentos, foi tão revolucionário que muitos não conseguiam distinguir entre experimentos científicos e magia; assim, Santo Alberto foi certa vez acusado de ser um mago.
Escolástica
A segunda conquista de São Alberto foi o escolástico e seu pupilo São Tomás de Aquino. A abordagem escolástica era única no sentido de que se centrava numa crença verdadeira na harmonia da fé e da razão, e num cosmos bem ordenado com um Autor Divino. Foi precisamente este encontro holístico de todas as ciências sob uma ciência divina que deu ao escolástico Santo Alberto o título de "médico universal".
Seria difícil exagerar a importância que o escolástico ainda tem dentro da Santa Mãe Igreja. O Papa Leão XIII declarou que «é dom próprio e singular dos teólogos escolásticos unir o conhecimento humano e o conhecimento divino nos laços mais estreitos».
Pope Sixtus V confirmed that Scholasticism “has an apt coherence of facts and causes, connected with one another; an order and arrangement, like soldiers drawn up in battle array … by these the light is divided from darkness, and truth from falsehood. The lies of heretics, wrapped up in many wiles and fallacies, being stripped of their coverings, are bared and laid open.”
E embora Santo Alberto deva ser recordado por direito próprio, temos de reconhecer a magnificência do seu aluno, São Tomás de Aquino.
Após a morte súbita de Tomás a caminho do Concílio de Lyon, Santo Alberto declarou que a «luz da Igreja» se tinha apagado. Mais tarde, a Igreja concedeu a São Tomás o título de «médico angélico».
The Church only continued to esteem the scholar and his scholasticism: The “chief and special glory” was having his “Summa Theologiaesobre o altar como fonte de inspiração no Concílio de Trento. Foi declarado patrono de todas as escolas e universidades católicas pelo Papa Leão XIII.
Por detrás de toda a adulação adequada a São Tomás, a sua «Summa» e tudo o que ela representa é o génio e a perseverança de São Alberto.
Esta história foi publicado pela primeira vez by the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on Nov. 15, 2011, and has been adapted and updated by CNA.