Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus), teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas,
was one of the most celebrated orators and theologians of the Church
in the thirteenth century. He was born at Lauingen on the Danube in
1205 (according to some in 1193), and, becoming a Dominican at the
age of twenty-nine, he taught in various German cities with
continually increasing celebrity, until finally the Pope called him
to preach in Rome. In 1260 he was made Bishop of Ratisbon, but after
three years resigned the bishopric and returned to his work in the
ranks of the clergy. While teaching at Cologne he suddenly lost his
memory, probably as a result of his excessive studies. He died
November 15th, 1280. He was placed on the calendar of saints in
1615. His works, collected by Peter Jammy, and published at Lyons in
1651, make twenty-one volumes, folio.