20081201 Doctors of the Church

Father, who are the Doctors of the Church and why are they called as such?


Answer:


For a person to be proclaimed Doctor of the Church, three requisites are necessary, according to Pope Benedict XIV's well-known definition:

• an eminent doctrine,
• a remarkable holiness of life and
• the declaration by the Supreme Pontiff or by a General Council which has met legitimately.

Following is the list of Doctors of the Church, starting with their name(s), the Pope who proclaimed them and the date on which this occurred:

1-4.	Saints Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great	Boniface VIII,    September 20, 1295
5.	Saint Thomas Aquinas	Saint Pius V ,    April 11, 1567.
6-9.	Saints Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, Saint John Chrysostom	Saint Pius V,    1568.
10.	Saint Bonaventure	Sixtus V,    March 14, 1588
11.	Saint Anselm of Canterbury	Clement XI,    February 3, 1720.
12.	Saint Isidore of Seville	Innocent XIII,    April 25, 1722.
13.	Saint Peter Chrysologus	Benedict XIII,    February 10, 1729.
14.	Saint Leo the Great	Benedict XIV,    October 15, 1754.
15.	Saint Peter Damian	Leo XII,    September 27, 1828.
16.	Saint Bernard of Clairvaux	Pius VIII,    August 20, 1830.
17.	Saint Hilaire of Poitiers	Pius IX,    May 13, 1851.
18.	Saint Alphonsus Liguori	Pius IX,    July 7, 1871.
19.	Saint Francis of Sales	Pius IX,    November 16, 1871.
20-21.	Saints Cyril of Alexandria and Cyril of Jerusalem	Leo XIII,     July 28, 1882.
22.	Saint John Damascene	Leo XIII,    August 19, 1890.
23.	Saint Bede the Venerable	Leo XIII,    November 13, 1899.
24.	Saint Ephrem of Syria	Benedict XV,    October 5, 1920.
25.	Saint Peter Canisius	Pius XI,    May 21, 1925
26.	Saint John of the Cross	Pius XI,    August 24, 1926.
27.	Saint Robert Bellarmine	Pius XI,    September 17, 1931.
28.	Saint Albert the Great	Pius XI,    December 16, 1931.
29.	Saint Anthony of Padua	Pius XII,    January 16, 1946
30.	Saint Laurence of Brindisi	John XXIII,    March 19, 1959.
31.	Saint Teresa of Avila	Paul VI,    September 27, 1970.
32.	Saint Catherine of Siena	Paul VI,    October 4, 1970
33.	Saint Therese of Lisieux	John Paul II,    October 19, 1997.