The Saints: St. Anselm

1033 - 1109/Feast - April 21

Born in northern Italy, Anselm studied in France and in 1060 entered the Benedictines at Bec in Normandy. With his 1078 election as abbot, he became influential, governing substantial estates and creating an important center of learning. After becoming archbishop of Canterbury, England, in 1093, he went into exile twice because of conflicts with successive English kings over their involvement in Church affairs. The foremost theologian of his age, Anselm was declared a doctor of the church in 1720.               © 2002 CNS