Saint Thomas of Villanova, Bishop & Confessor
S. Thomae a Villanova Episcopi et Confessoris
Saint Thomas of Villanova, Archbishop of Valencia and an Augustinian friar, was so unwearied in his care of the poor that he is honoured as “the Almsgiver,” giving away all he had for the love of Christ’s little ones.
Saint Thomas was born in 1488 at Fuenllana, in Spain, and took his surname from Villanueva de los Infantes, the town where he was reared. From his parents, who were charitable to the poor, he learned from childhood the love of almsgiving that would mark his whole life. A youth of great ability, he studied and afterward taught at the University of Alcalá, winning renown for his learning; but he set his heart on a hidden life, and entered the Order of Saint Augustine, among whom he was ordained a priest.
The Almsgiver
As an Augustinian friar Saint Thomas was esteemed for his preaching, his humility, and his austerity of life, and he was entrusted with high office in his Order. Much against his own will he was at length compelled, by obedience, to accept the archbishopric of Valencia, a great and neglected see. He governed it as a true shepherd: living poorly and plainly amid the dignity of his office, reforming his clergy, instructing the ignorant, and labouring for the conversion of sinners and for those newly brought to the faith.
Above all Saint Thomas was the father of the poor. He gave away well-nigh all that came to him, keeping for himself only what bare necessity required; he fed the hungry at his own door, provided for orphans and for poor maidens, ransomed captives, and sought out the needy that they might not be put to shame. When he was counselled to lay something by, he answered that the poor were his treasurers and the surest keepers of his goods. So freely did he give, and so tenderly did he love the least of Christ’s brethren, that he won the name by which he is still known, Saint Thomas the Almsgiver.
His holy death
Worn out by his labours and his austerities, Saint Thomas died at Valencia on the eighth of September, 1555, having given away even the bed on which he lay, that it might serve the poor. He was canonised in the following century, and is honoured throughout the Church for his charity, his learning, and his pastoral zeal.
The Collect
O God, who didst adorn blessed Thomas the bishop with a singular charity towards the poor: we beseech thee, that by the help of his intercession thou wouldst pour forth the riches of thy mercy upon all who call upon thee.
Deus, qui beátum Thomam Pontíficem insígnis in páuperes misericórdiæ virtúte decorásti: quǽsumus; ut, eius intercessióne, in omnes qui te déprecántur, divítias misericórdiæ tuæ benígnus effúndas.
Patronage
He is venerated as a model of charity to the poor and is honoured as a patron of almsgivers and of those who labour for the relief of the needy.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his memorial is observed on the same day, 22 September, as an optional memorial.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Thomas of Villanova?
His feast is kept on 22 September in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast. The modern calendar likewise observes him on 22 September, as an optional memorial.
Who was Saint Thomas of Villanova?
He was a sixteenth-century Spanish Augustinian friar, scholar, and preacher who became Archbishop of Valencia. Renowned for his boundless charity to the poor, he is honoured as “the Almsgiver.” He died in 1555 and was later canonised.
Why is he called ‘the Almsgiver’?
As archbishop Saint Thomas gave away nearly all his revenues to the poor, feeding the hungry, providing for orphans and the destitute, and ransoming captives, keeping almost nothing for himself. He called the poor his treasurers, and his extraordinary generosity won him the title of Saint Thomas the Almsgiver.
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