St. Anselm of Canterbury

A Benedictine monk of Bec who became Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm is remembered as the father of medieval scholasticism. His Proslogion proposed the famous "ontological argument" for God's existence, summed up in his motto fides quaerens intellectum — faith seeking understanding. He twice endured exile for defending the Church against the encroachments of English kings.

Born in Aosta in the Italian Alps, Anselm entered the monastery of Bec in Normandy as a young man and quickly became its most renowned teacher. His Cur Deus Homo offered the first systematic explanation of why God became man, reshaping the theology of redemption for centuries to come.

Reluctantly made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093, he clashed with both William Rufus and Henry I over the rights of the Church and the investiture of bishops. He spent years in exile rather than yield, returning each time with his principles intact. He died in 1109 and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1720, honored as a mind that proved reason and faith need never be at war.