Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), perhaps the greatest of the medieval scholars, was born near Naples and studied at the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino. He later moved to Cologne, where he studied under the renowned intellectual Albertus Magnus, and then to Paris, where he received his doctorate. His masterpiece was Summa Theologiae (1265-1273) in which he attempted to prove such philosophical matters as the existence of God and address theological issues like the atonement. His theology was adopted as normative by the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent (1545-1563). He used his great mind to logically address the weightiest matters of church doctrine.
