Anselm of Canterbury

Who they were

Anselm was born at Aosta in 1033 to a noble family. As a child he dreamed that God invited him up among the high Alps and gave him the whitest bread. His harsh father forbade him to become a Benedictine to keep the family estate together; at fifteen he fell ill with grief, then left for France and for three years lived a dissipated life.

He found his way to the abbey of Bec in Normandy, where he became a monk, a great teacher and abbot, and wrote works that seek to understand the faith by reason. As Archbishop of Canterbury he stood for the freedom of the Church against the English kings, preferring 'to disagree with men rather than, agreeing with them, to disagree with God'.

The miracles

In 1163 Pope Alexander III granted the 'elevation of his body', which at that time amounted to canonisation. Clement XI proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1720.

Why that counted as sanctity

Anselm devoted his life to 'raising the mind to the contemplation of God', joining prayer to reason, and to the end put truth and God before the favour of kings.

Connected on this site

• Ivo of Chartres Saint Teacher
• Thomas Aquinas Saint Influenced by them
• Lanfranc Blessed Teacher
• Odo of Cambrai Blessed Pupil
• Saint Gwinear Saint
  “The Life of Gwinear was written in the early 14th century by a priest named Anselm, and has sometimes been printed among the works of Anselm of Canterbury.” — Wikipedia