St. Thomas of Villanova

St. Thomas of Villanova, O.S.A.
Old master print of St. Thomas in Portraits of Illustrious Spaniards (Madrid, 1791)
Religious, bishop and confessor
Born	Tomás García y Martínez 1488 in Villanueva de los Infantes, Ciudad Real, Spain
Died	September 8, 1555 in Valencia, Spain
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church (Order of St. Augustine)
Canonized	November 1, 1658 by Pope Alexander VII
Feast	September 22
Attributes	A bishop distributing alms to the poor
Patronage	Santolan, (Pasig City), Alimodian and Miag-ao (Iloilo), Villanova University

St. Thomas of Villanova O.S.A. (1488 – 8 September 1555) was a Spanish friar of the Order of Saint Augustine who was a noted preacher, ascetic and religious writer of his day. He became an archbishop who was famous for the extent of his care for the poor of his see.

He was born Tomás García y Martínez in Fuentellana, Spain, in 1488. His father was a miller, who regularly distributed food and provisions to the poor, as did his mother. He grew up and was educated in Villanueva de los Infantes, in the Province of Ciudad Real, Spain, therefore the name Thomas of Villanueva. Part of the original house still stands, with a coat of arms in the corner, beside a family chapel. In spite of his family's wealth, as a young boy he often went about naked because he had given his clothing to the poor.

At the age of sixteen years, Thomas entered the University of Alcalá de Henares to study Arts and Theology. He became a professor there, teaching arts, logic, and philosophy, despite a continuing absentmindedness and poor memory. In 1516, he decided to join the Augustinian friars in Salamanca and in 1518 was ordained a priest.

He became renowned for his eloquent and effective preaching in the churches of Salamanca. Thomas composed beautiful sermons, among which stands out the Sermon on the Love of God, one of the great examples of sacred oratory of the 16th century. Charles V, upon hearing him preach, exclaimed, "This monsignor can move even the stones!". Charles named Thomas one of his councilors of state and court preacher in Valladolid, the residence of the Emperor when on his visits to the Low Countries.

His scathing attacks on his fellow bishops earned him the title of reformer. Some of his sermons attacked the cruelty of bullfighting. He also had a great devotion to the Virgin Mary, whose heart he compared to the burning bush of Moses that is never consumed.