The Diocese of Phoenix recently celebrated the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, who in his time is believed to have faced discrimination from his peers.

His peers from the University of Paris thought he had a mental disorder.

“You call him ‘the dumb ox’, but in his teaching, he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world,” said Dominican scholar Albertus Mangus, chairman of Theology at the College of St. James, according to Catholic Online.

Two of his brothers once hired a prostitute to seduce him, Catholic Online wrote, and he fought her off with a fire iron. 

“Today we celebrate the Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, a brilliant doctor of the Church,” the Diocese of Phoenix wrote on Facebook. “Ora pro nobis!”

Thomas Aquinas’s feast day is celebrated on Jan. 28.

Saint Thomas Aquinas lived in Italy in the 13th century. As a young child, he lived for nine years in the monastery of Monte Cassino as a prospective monk before being sent to the University of Naples. At that time Thomas decided to join the Dominicans, a relatively new religious order. 

His parents didn’t want him to join and had him kidnapped. They held him hostage for a year before he finally was able to travel to Paris to continue his studies at the convent of Saint-Jacques.

Thomas was a prolific writer, authoring “Summa theologia,” “Summa contra gentiles,” and many hymns.

“Doctor of the Church” is an official title that a Pope can bestow upon a person who has made significant and lasting contributions to the church. Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, only 36 people have ever been granted this title.

There are three requirements to becoming a Doctor of the Church: “holiness that is truly outstanding, even among saints”; “depth of doctrinal insight”; and “an extensive body of writings which the church can recommend as an expression of the authentic and life-giving Catholic Tradition.”