At Valencia in Spain, Saint Thomas of Villanova, bishop, who, a hermit under the Rule of Saint Augustine, when he had taken up the office of bishop out of obedience, excelled among his other pastoral virtues with so burning a love for the poor that he gave away everything for the needy, not leaving even a bed for himself.
Lifespan: 1486–1555
Beatified: 7 October 1618 by Pope Paul V
Canonized: 1 November 1658 by Pope Alexander VII, Vatican Basilica
Memoria liturgica: 8 September
Tomás García Martínez was born towards the end of 1486 at Fuenllana, Ciudad Real, in Spain, to devout and charitable parents, from whom he inherited a profound love for the poor.
From Villanueva de los Infantes — the town where the family settled and from which he would later take his name — he was sent at only fifteen years of age to study at the University of Alcalá, where in 1509 he obtained a master’s degree in logic, natural philosophy, and metaphysics. He then pursued theology for three years, interrupting his studies to hold the chair of logic (1512–1516). His fifteen years at Alcalá left a deep humanistic stamp on the rest of his life.
In 1516 he went to Salamanca to make his religious profession in the Augustinian Order. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1518, at the age of thirty-two. His superiors quickly recognized his gifts, and a succession of offices followed without interruption: Prior of Salamanca (1519–21 and 1523–25), Visitor of the Province of Castile (1525–27), Provincial of Andalusia (1527–29), Prior of Burgos (1531–34), Provincial of Castile (1534–37), and Prior of Burgos again (1541–44).
Charles V, who held him in such high esteem as to count him among the key figures in the reform of his kingdoms, appointed him court preacher and counselor; and when the see of Valencia fell vacant in 1544, presented him as Archbishop of that city. Valencia was in a deplorable spiritual state: more than a century without a resident bishop, many clergy in irregular situations, and a restive Morisco population.
Thomas of Villanova’s first concern was the re-Christianization of the diocese. To form a clergy capable of giving authentic witness through their lives, he founded the College-Seminary of the Presentation (1550). He convoked a synod and visited every parish, acting with a firm yet fatherly hand.
Among his pastoral works, two in particular merit mention: his care for the poor and his evangelization of the Moriscos. The success of his labors on behalf of the flock entrusted to him, together with his erudition, made him one of the most respected men of his day and the very image of the ideal bishop.
He died in 1555. He was declared Blessed in 1618, and Alexander VII canonized him in 1658. His remains are venerated by the faithful in the cathedral of Valencia.