November 15 + Saint Albert the Great

Albert was a German Catholic Dominican friar and bishop and is one of the 36 Doctors of the Church. Scholars have referred to him as the greatest German philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages.

He was the eldest son of a powerful and wealthy German lord of military rank and was well-educated in the liberal arts. After Albert experienced an encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary, he chose to become a member of the Dominican Order. He thereafter studied theology. His boundless interests prompted him to write a compendium of all knowledge: natural science, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, ethics, economics, politics, and metaphysics. His explanation of learning took 20 years to complete.

One of his students was the famous Saint Thomas Aquinas who would also become a Doctor of the Church. During his life, Albert wrote thirty eight volumes covering topics ranging from philosophy to geography, astronomy, law, friendship and love.

Albert died November 15, 1280. Three years after his death, his grave was opened and his body was found incorrupt. When his grave was again opened centuries later, they found his skeleton. His relics are presently in the St. Andreas Church in Cologne. He is the Patron Saint of medical technicians, natural sciences, philosophers, scientists and students.