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Great Christian Thinkers - 37 St. Boniface, Apostle of The Germans
Great Christian Thinkers - 37 St. Boniface, Apostle of The Germans
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Boniface, Apostle of The Germans We reflect here on a great eighth-century missionary who spread Christianity in central Europe—indeed, also in my own country: St. Boniface, who has gone down in history as “the Apostle of the Germans.”… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by …
Great Christian Thinkers - 39 John Damascene
Great Christian Thinkers - 39 John Damascene
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
John Damascene John Damascene was a personage of prime importance in the history of Byzantine theology and a great doctor in the history of the universal Church. Above all, he was an eyewitness of the passage from the Greek and Syrian Christian cultures shared by the Eastern part…
Great Christian Thinkers - 38 Germanus of Constantinople
Great Christian Thinkers - 38 Germanus of Constantinople
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Germanus of Constantinople Patriarch Germanus of Constantinople does not belong among the most representative figures of the Greek-speaking world of Eastern Christianity. Yet his name appears with a certain solemnity in the list of the great champions of sacred images drafted by …
Great Christian Thinkers - 44 St. Odo of Cluny
Great Christian Thinkers - 44 St. Odo of Cluny
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Odo of Cluny We resume the presentation of important writers of the Eastern and Western Church in the Middle Ages because in their lives and writings we see, as in a mirror, what it means to be Christian. One such luminous figure is St. Odo, abbot of Cluny… Taken from Great C…
Great Christian Thinkers - 53 St. Hildegard of Bingen
Great Christian Thinkers - 53 St. Hildegard of Bingen
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Hildegard of Bingen In 1988, on the occasion of the Marian Year, Venerable John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter titled Mulieris Dignitatem on the precious role that women have played and play in the life of the Church… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XV…
Great Christian Thinkers - 51 Hugh and Richard of Saint-Victor
Great Christian Thinkers - 51 Hugh and Richard of Saint-Victor
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Hugh and Richard of Saint-Victor I have been presenting exemplary figures of believers dedicated to showing the harmony between reason and faith and to witnessing with their lives to the proclamation of the gospel… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 54 John of Salisbury
Great Christian Thinkers - 54 John of Salisbury
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
John of Salisbury We shall become acquainted here with John of Salisbury, who belonged to one of the most important schools of philosophy and theology of the Middle Ages, that of the Cathedral of Chartres in France. Like the theologians of whom I have spoken in the past few chapt…
Great Christian Thinkers - 52 William of Saint-Thierry
Great Christian Thinkers - 52 William of Saint-Thierry
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
William of Saint-Thierry The biographer of Bernard of Clairveaux, and a friend who esteemed him, was William of Saint-Thierry, on whom I reflect in this chapter… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 60 St. Bonaventure
Great Christian Thinkers - 60 St. Bonaventure
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Bonaventure Interpreter of Francis I talk now about St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio. I confide to you that in broaching this subject I feel a certain nostalgia, for I am thinking back to my research as a young scholar on this author, who was particularly dear to me. My knowledg…
Great Christian Thinkers - 56 St. Francis of Assisi
Great Christian Thinkers - 56 St. Francis of Assisi
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Francis of Assisi Here I present the figure of Francis, an authentic “giant” of holiness, who continues to fascinate a great many people of all age groups and every religion… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 59 St. Anthony of Padua
Great Christian Thinkers - 59 St. Anthony of Padua
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Anthony of Padua We discussed St. Francis of Assisi; here I present another saint who belonged to the first generation of the Friars Minor: Anthony of Padua, or of Lisbon, as he is also called with reference to his native town. He is one of the most popular saints in the whol…
Great Christian Thinkers - 57 St. Clare of Assisi
Great Christian Thinkers - 57 St. Clare of Assisi
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Clare of Assisi One of the best-loved saints is without a doubt St. Clare of Assisi, who lived in the thirteenth century and was a contemporary of St. Francis. Her testimony shows us how indebted the Church is to courageous women, full of faith like her, who can give a crucia…
Great Christian Thinkers - 58 St. Dominic De Guzman
Great Christian Thinkers - 58 St. Dominic De Guzman
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Dominic De Guzman Having presented the luminous figure of Francis of Assisi and also Clare of Assisi, I talk now about another saint of the same period who made a fundamental contribution to the renewal of the Church of his time: St. Dominic, the Founder of the Order of Preac…
Great Christian Thinkers - 55 Peter Lombard
Great Christian Thinkers - 55 Peter Lombard
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Peter Lombard Peter Lombard, a theologian who lived in the twelfth century, enjoyed great fame because one of his works, titled the Sentences, was used as a theological manual for many centuries… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by Pope Benedict XVI
Great Christian Thinkers - 67 John Duns Scotus
Great Christian Thinkers - 67 John Duns Scotus
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
John Duns Scotus Another important figure in the history of theology is Blessed John Duns Scotus, who lived at the end of the thirteenth century. An ancient epitaph on his tombstone sums up the geographical coordinates of his biography: “Scotland bore me, England received me, Fra…
Great Christian Thinkers - 69 St. Catherine of Siena
Great Christian Thinkers - 69 St. Catherine of Siena
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Catherine of Siena We now reflect on a woman who played an eminent role in the history of the Church: St. Catherine of Siena. The century in which she lived - the fourteenth - was a troubled period in the life of the Church and throughout the social context of Italy and Europ…
Great Christian Thinkers - 66 Marguerite D'Oingt
Great Christian Thinkers - 66 Marguerite D'Oingt
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
Marguerite D'Oingt With Marguerite d’Oingt, we are introduced to Carthusian spirituality, which draws its inspiration from the evangelical synthesis lived and proposed by St. Bruno. We do not know the date of her birth, although some place it around 1240. Marguerite came from a p…
Great Christian Thinkers - 68 St. Bridget of Sweden