Doctors of the Church

If you are serious about following the science, should you not follow the Doctors of the Church?

Peter Kreeft

A doctor of the church is a person whose teaching on faith has been deemed sound and of benefit to the church through their writing, study, or research. Along with significant theological contribution, the person must also display a high degree of sanctity, which is why all church doctors are alsnoo canonized saints. A third requirement to be named a doctor of the church is formal proclamation as such by the pope or an ecumenical council.






The only four female doctors of the Church


Four great women of the Church: Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

The first church doctors were declared by Pope Boniface VIII in the 13th century: Sts. Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Pope Gregory the Great. The first women to be named as church doctors were Sts. Teresa of Ávila and Catherine of Siena in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

Today, the Roman Catholic Church lists 37 saints officially recognized by papal pronouncement as doctors of the church. Until after the Second Vatican Council, which met from 1962 to 1965 and initiated significant modern reforms in the church, all doctors of the church were men – usually bishops or priests.

There can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. The Church teaches (CCC 159) that; "Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth." "Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are."

Doctors ofthe Church

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem,
Fought The Arian Heresy, Declared Orthodox & Doctor of the Church

March 18 marks the feast of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem,a theologian of the Early Church. declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII.

Saint Damian, Courageous Reformer, Monk, Cardinal & Doctor of the Church.  February 21 marks the feast of Saint Peter Damian, Patton Saint of sleep difficulties,  was an Italian reforming Benedictine monk and cardinal. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of Paradiso as a great predecessor of Francis of Assisi and he was declared a Doctor of the Church on 27 September 1828.

Monday, April 01, 2024

St. Thomas Aquinas, 

Doctor of the Church: Model of the Catholic Mind

January 28 marks the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas; a Model of the Catholic Mind. He is the patron saint of Catholic schools, colleges, and universities, students. teachers and educators, philosophers and theologians, chastity. booksellers and publishers, scholars and apologists.

Saint Francis de Sales

January 24 

Bishop, Evangelist and Doctor of the Church and the patron saint of writers, the deaf, adult education, and Christian unity whose role as a priest and bishop helped bring thousands of Protestants back to the Catholic Church.

Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzen: Theologians, Heresy Warriors & Doctors of the Church.

January 2
Gregory Nazianzus is renowned as one of the Cappadocian Fathers, along with St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Nyssa. He is a patron saint of theologians, preachers, and those seeking understanding of the deep theological aspects of the Christian faith. Basil the Great is the patron Saint for both hospital administrators and reformers. Both Doctors of the Church.

St John of the Cross' Life Illustrates the Paradox of the Cross

December 14 is feast day of Saint John of the Cross. Reformer, Mystic and Doctor of the Church.

Saint Ambrose. 

December 7

Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Arianism and paganism. He was a biblical critic, and the initiator of ideas that provided a model for medieval conceptions of church–state relations.

16. Saint John of Damascene, flourished under Muslim rule to become a Church Father and Doctor of the Church

December 4

December 4th marks the feast of Saint John of Damascus.Church Father, Doctor of the Church, patron Saint of Pharmacists, Iconographers, theology students, spent most of his life in the Monastery of Saint Sabas near Jerusalem, and all of his life under Muslim rule. He was born in Damascus, received a classical and theological education, and followed his father in a government position under the Arabs.

 Saint Albert the Great,

November 15

Doctor of the Church, patron saint of scientists & 13th Century Google. November 15th is the Feast of Saint AlbertDecember 7 is feast day of Saint Ambrose. Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Arianism and paganism. He was a biblical critic, and the initiator of ideas that provided a model for medieval conceptions of church–state relations.the Great, a Doctor of the Church, considered one of the greatest medieval philosophers and thinkers. Albert became known as Great because of his towering intellectual abilities; he was a respected philosopher, scientist, theologian and teacher, and was well-versed in Arabic culture, including Islam.

St Teresa de Avila,

October 15

Breaking through the Glass Ceiling in the 16th century as if it was 2024

Teresa of Ávila, OCD (Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada; also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, (feast day October 15)

Little Saint, Thérèse of Lisieux's

October 1

Little Way, The Greatest Saint of Modern Times, All in the Saintly Family, A Child Doctor of the Church, all describe St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who has been a highly influential model of sanctity for Catholics because of the simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life.

Thérèse was beatified and canonized by Pope Pius XI. In 1997, Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church. Her feast day in the General Roman Calendar is 1 October. In 2015 St. Thérèse’s parents, Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin, were canonized by Pope Francis; they were the first spouses to be canonized as a couple.

St Jerome:

September 30

From Feminist, Vitriolic, Remorsefully Licentious, Many Enemies, Reluctant Priest, Vulgate Author to Doctor of the Church

September 30 is Feast Day of Saint Jerome. Saint Jerome is a person one can easily identify with: As a young man drawn to libertinage, with a curious mind, he learns to stand on principle, eventually becoming an ascetic and a Bible Scholar. Traditionally, Saint Jerome is regarded as the most learned of the Latin Fathers. St. Jerome, patron saint of irascible, morbidly sensitive old curmudgeons

Saint Bellarmine,

September 17

Defender of the Faith and Doctor of the Church
September 17 is Feast Day of Saint Bellarmine, Defender of the Faith and Doctor of the Church, patron saint of religious education and spiritual father of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, SJ, the patron saint of youth.

St. John Chrysostom,

September 13

Golden Tongue, Figthing the Early Swamp - September 13


John Chrysostom, patron saint of Preachers, was an important Early Church Father who served as Archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, his Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. Chrysostom was among the most prolific authors in the early Christian Church

Pope Saint Gregory The Great,

September 3

Just Right For the Medieval Ages.


Saint Gregory The Great, a Medieval Pope, a Missionary, Evangelist, Father of Christian Worship, the Apostle of England, Reformer and Doctor of the Church, a pope for such a times as those. The Medieval Ages were not the Wild, Wild, West. It was worse.

Today, September 3rd, we remember the death anniversary of Saint Pope Gregory the Great and on March 12th, we celebrate his feast day. Saint Pope Gregory is patron saint of musicians, singers and teachers.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux,

August 20

Man of the 12th Century & Doctor of the Church


August 20th is the feast day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, patron saint of Cistercians, Burgundy, beekeepers, candlemakers, Gibraltar, Queens' College, Cambridge, Speyer Cathedral, and the Knights Templar. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a French military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the wealthiest and most popular military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded in 1119 to defend pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, with their headquarters located there on the Temple Mount, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori 

August 1

The Olympics Ceremony, Mimetic Art & Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Moralist and Doctor of the Church

Saint Alphonsus Liguori was a Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, theologian, moralist patron of Moral Theologians and confessors and Doctor of the Church.
August 1st is his Feast Day.

Saint Peter Chrysologus to deliver short sermon in Paris 2024

July 30:
Some even blame Christianity for cultural appropriation: Thomas Jolly, insists the scene is a nod to a pagan celebration featuring Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility, wine and revelry.

Saint Bonaventure,

the Angelic Doctor - July 15
Like all the great scholastic doctors, Bonaventure starts with the discussion of the relations between reason and faith. Scholasticism is a method of learning more than a philosophy or a theology, since it places a strong emphasis on dialectical reasoning to extend knowledge by inference and to resolve contradictions. Scholastic thought is also known for rigorous conceptual analysis and the careful drawing of distinctions.

Cyril the Pillar of Faith

and Doctor of the Church

St. Irenaeus,

Apologist, fought heretics, a doctor of the church, and leading Christian theologian of the 2nd century

June 28:  Brought to you directly from the Apostles.

St. Irenaeus, an apologist, fought heretics, is a doctor of the church, a leading Christian theologian of the 2nd century, author of the first Catholic Catechism, Champion of the Incarnation, possibly martyred is
Patron Saint of those who work for the unity of the Eastern and Western Churches, Invoked against Christological heresies, and by apologists and catechists.
June 27 is Feast Day of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, patron saint of theologians and scholars, is best known for his defense of the doctrine of the Incarnation (that the one Person of Jesus was the divine Son, the Second Person of the Trinity), and for his brilliant exegetical writings

Saint Athanasius

May 2.  He spent his life fighting the NPR, PBS of the 4th Century:  As modern-day NPR's CEO Katherine Maher might say 'Truth is hazardous to progressives' goals. But he felt that spending his time and energy fighting for the truth was worth it. He even endured five exiles to prove it. Through his writings and hard work, we today enjoy the truth of the Gospel in its fullness: Christ is both fully human and fully divine.

Catherine of Siena

April 29: She was of low social status, uneducated, illiterate, from an ordinary family who in the course of a very short life, became an object of fascination to thousands and a counselor to kings, queen and popes. Though she never studied theology and never learned formally to read and write, she came to be recognized as Doctor of the Church and a master of the spiritual life.

 Saint Gregory of Narek

 and Doctor of the Church - February 27, Feast of

Grigor Narekatsi, anglicized as Gregory of Narek, was an Armenian mystical and lyrical poet, monk, and theologian. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis in 2015.

Chronological list of the Doctors of the Church




The link takes you to a list of all the doctors of the church in the order of when they were designated.