Thomas of Villanueva (1488–1555)

Biography

He was a university professor; He had a lucid intelligence and practical judgment, but he had to continually exercise to acquire a good memory and fight hard so that distractions did not take him away from the topics he wanted to discuss. Against all his will, and only to obey his superior, he accepted the appointment made by Emperor Charles V to be archbishop of Granada. He was a very humble and charitable archbishop and he distributed everything that fell into his hands among the poor and sick. He was a distinguished preacher and the emperor said of him: “This Monsignor moves even the stones.” But what Saint Thomas was most interested in was transforming his priests. He won them little by little with advice and kind requests, but also with a lot of prayer and tremendous penances. He continually and strongly insisted to the rich about the grave duty that each person has to give as much as they can in alms. He died at 66 years of age, exclaiming “How good is Our Lord that in exchange for our loving him on earth, he gives us his heaven forever.”