| Thomas Garcia (1486-1555) was born in the Spanish village of
Villanova, Spain. Thomas as a young man was university professor before entering an
Augustinian monastery at the age of thirty. Thomas's many gifts -- his profound piety, his
powerful, uncompromising oratory, his skills as a mediator and administrator, his
sensitivity to the feelings and needs of others -- led to positions of increasing
responsibility within Spain's Augustinian community and brought him to the attention of
the emperor, Charles V, who asked the pope to appoint Thomas as archbishop of Valencia,
Spain, in 1542. As archbishop, Thomas promoted the holiness of his clergy and the
religious in his diocese. He called them to a deeper spirituality so that they could
better serve the diocese and the church. By his sermons and writings he instructed his
flock in the gospel life. He insisted that the material resources of the Church should be
shared with those in greatest need.
Known as the Father of the Poor -- whom he called "my family" -- he
personally saw to the distribution of alms, food, and clothing to hundreds of persons
daily and maintained a home for orphaned and abandoned children within the archbishop's
residence. He regularly attended to the sick, established schools, provided dowries for
young girls so that they could marry in dignity, distributed food to the poor. In short,
he spent his whole life in uplifting humankind to its primordial calling and dignity as
daughter and sons of God.
Because of Saint Thomas' role in education and his service to humanity, the early
founders of the Augustinian Province dedicated their second educational institution to
him, Saint Thomas of Villanova.
"The Bible tells us that the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the
needy, and the hungry and thirsty were the Lord's favorites. Why, then,
should they not be
our favorites as well?"
- Saint Thomas of Villanova
A brief but very helpful biography of St. Thomas of Villanova, The Pelican, by
Siegfried Back, OSA, is published by the Augustinian Press, and can be ordered on line at
www.augustinian.org. |
