RELIGIOUS LIFE IN THE WRITINGS OF SAINT THOMAS DE VILLANUEVA

Abstract

Sto. Tomás de Villanueva was an Augustinian religious before being appointed Archbishop of Valencia, but he always maintained a lifestyle according to his religious status. In his preaching there are many references to religious life, which are the focus of this study. Like other holy fathers in different historical times, Sto. Tomás de Villanueva is, without a doubt, one of the pillars of the reform of the Church in Spain and of the defense of orthodoxy and religious life. The security of his teaching, founded on the Bible, always in accordance with the doctrine of the Church, makes the holy archbishop of Valencia have a prominent place in the history of the Church and occupy an eminent position among the defenders of his doctrine and of their morals. He was a doctor, not innovating, but supporting and defending the doctrine against the disintegration that religious life was experiencing in Europe, as a result of the attacks and principles of the Protestant reformers and of his own internal relaxation. This security of his magisterium is evident in the defense of the value of consecrated life and of the evangelical and biblical principles in which he is inspired, in total harmony with what was proclaimed years later by the Council of Trent.