An Italian-born Benedictine monk who became Archbishop of Canterbury and a Doctor of the Church, famous for the ontological argument for God’s existence.

Saint Anselm of Canterbury, born in Aosta, Italy, in 1033, became a Benedictine monk and later abbot before serving as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 until his death on April 21, 1109, at seventy-five. Widely regarded as one of the most important theologians and philosophers of the medieval period, he is best known for his ‘ontological argument’ for the existence of God and was declared a Doctor of the Church for the lasting depth of his theological writing.

Quick Facts

• Born: 1033, Aosta, Italy
• Died: April 21, 1109 (age 75), Canterbury, England
• Archbishop of Canterbury: 1093-1109
• Canonized: 1163
• Title: Doctor of the Church

Who Was Saint Anselm of Canterbury?

Saint Anselm was born in Aosta, in what is now northern Italy, in 1033, and left home as a young man to pursue monastic learning, eventually entering the Benedictine abbey of Bec in Normandy, where he became a renowned teacher and later abbot. In 1093 he was named Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held, through two lengthy periods of exile forced by conflict with the English crown, until his death on April 21, 1109, at the age of seventy-five.

Historical Setting

Anselm’s tenure at Canterbury placed him at the center of England’s own version of the broader European Investiture Controversy, as he resisted King William II Rufus and later King Henry I over the crown’s claims to control episcopal appointments and Church property, twice going into exile on the Continent rather than compromise on principle. His years at Bec, meanwhile, had already established him as one of the great minds of the emerging medieval intellectual revival, engaging deeply with logic and philosophy in service of Christian faith.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Anselm

The Church remembers Anselm both as a bishop who defended ecclesiastical liberty against royal interference and as a theologian whose rigorous, prayerful reasoning, summarized in his own phrase ‘faith seeking understanding,’ produced arguments, especially his famous ontological argument for God’s existence in the Proslogion, that philosophers and theologians still study today. Pope Clement XI declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1720 in recognition of this enduring contribution.

Canonization and Feast Day

Saint Anselm was canonized in 1163, within a few decades of his death, and later received the title Doctor of the Church, a mark of the exceptional and lasting theological value the Church has found in his writings across the centuries since.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Anselm modeled a faith that actively sought to understand itself through reason without ever treating reason as a substitute for prayer and humility, and he paid a real personal price, choosing exile twice, to defend the Church’s proper freedom from secular control. His example remains a touchstone for Catholics who want their intellectual life and their spiritual life to nourish each other rather than compete.

A Prayer to Saint Anselm

Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Doctor of the Church who sought understanding through faith and defended the Church’s freedom at real cost, pray for us. Help us think deeply about what we believe, and stand firm for what is right even when it demands sacrifice. Amen.

Sources

• Roman Martyrology
• Butler’s Lives of the Saints
• New Advent, Catholic Encyclopedia
• Britannica