SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANUEVA AND CHARITY AS THE CENTER OF HIS THEOLOGY

Abstract

In this article we start from some known biographical data about the saint's family origins, such as his connection with the city of Alcalá de Henares, his work as a university professor, his various pastoral and government responsibilities, his enormous influence through preaching in society. of his time, which reached from the common people to the highest social classes, reaching the Emperor Carlos V himself, who made him his advisor and preacher. From all these data and testimonies about his life, we try to glimpse and discover the ultimate meaning of his theology of charity: Saint Thomas did not preach only with the word, despite his ability to move people, but, above all , with his own example enlightened and motivated by the reading and personal reflection of the Gospel, matured in prayer and personal sacrifice. Certainly, Saint Thomas did great works of charity and lived in great personal austerity, which are still remembered, although he always considered that the greatest poverty was really not having God. His deep sense of charity illuminated the evangelization of his time, as ours continues to mark, so that we can discover in the example and in the doctrine of the saint, a precedent and foundation for the theology of charity that the Pope Francisco embodies  in our time.