St. Anselm of Canterbury
Patron of theologians, scholars
Saint Anselm (1033–1109), abbot of Bec and Archbishop of Canterbury, was the father of scholasticism and the greatest theologian between Augustine and Aquinas. His Proslogion contains the famous 'ontological argument' for the existence of God, and his Cur Deus Homo gave the West its classical articulation of the doctrine of the Atonement. As archbishop he twice went into exile rather than accept royal interference in the freedom of the Church, defending the principle of investiture that would shape the medieval constitution. His motto, fides quaerens intellectum — faith seeking understanding — has remained the program of Catholic theology ever since.