Saint Albert the Great, honoured as a Doctor of the Church and the patron saint of scientists, was a German scholar who entered the young Dominican Order in the early thirteenth century. He earned his doctorate at the University of Paris and later taught theology both there and in Cologne.

Albert was called “the Great” because of his remarkable intellect. He became known as a leading philosopher, scientist and theologian, well versed in many fields and knowledgeable in Arabic scholarship. Among his students was Thomas Aquinas, who became a close friend and later developed Albert’s Scholastic method.

Saint Albert the Great died on November 15, 1280.