St. Anselm was the Archbishop of Canterbury and named a Doctor of the Church. Anslem is called “one among the noblest worthies in the British Isles.” He was born in Aosta, in Lombardy, Italy in 1033 and learned the faith at an early age. His biographer, Eadmer, recorded that his parents were Gundulf and Ermenberga, from an old Burgundian family. Anselm showed early signs of a vocation but was denied entry into a monastery because of his father’s opposition. The father treated Anselm harshly, and when Ermenberga died, Anselm decided to leave home. He and a servant spent three years in the duchy of Burgundy and other parts of France, eventually staying at the Benedictine abbey of Bec, near Rouen. He became a monk there in 1060. In 1073, he was appointed abbot of Caen. He wrote philosophical and theological treatises, and in 1078 was made abbot of Bec. He visited Canterbury, England, as part of his duties, and his kindness won him many English followers. King William I, ruler of England, sent for Anselm to visit him on his deathbed. During the reign of William II, also known as William the Red, William the Conqueror’s heir, the see of Canterbury became vacant and remained so for three years. Anselm did not visit England during that time, but in 1092 he made the journey and was hailed as the new archbishop. Anselm fled such acclamation and conducted the affairs of the order in England, but when he tried to return to France, he was restrained by order of the kind, who named him archbishop of Canterbury, in 1093, consecrated on December 4.

When Anselm prepared to go to Rome to receive the pallium (a sign of his office as metropolitan) from Blessed Pope Urban II, he faced opposition from the king. Anselm believed in the supremacy of the pope in all matters. King William compromised by sending a legate to Rome to receive the pallium. When he tried to bestow it upon Anselm, he refused, but in a solemn ceremony, the pallium was placed upon the altar of Canterbury and accepted.

In 1097, Anselm did visit Rome, welcomed by the pope. He stayed in a Benedictine retreat for a while, finishing a philosophical work. Anselm also served as an adviser to Pope Urban at a council. King William died tragically, and Anselm returned to England to console the heir, Henry I. Anselm encouraged Henry to marry Edith, the Saxon heiress, and he defended the king against Norman nobles. Anselm’s kindness and courtesy at this time were remarkable, because Henry I had denied Anselm’s investiture as archbishop of Canterbury and demanded the right to hold the ceremony again. Other bishops invested by Henry refused the staffs of office, the crosier, from his hands. Finally, Henry asked Anselm to go to Rome to settle the dispute. Anselm set out in 1103. In 1106, the differences were settled, and the English king gave up the right to invest bishops and abbots, thus granting the Church freedom from throne politics and reinforcing papal authority.

Anselm returned to England and served the Church and the king. He was regent of England in 1108, while Henry was in Normandy. At the same time, he was becoming the leading philosopher and theologian of his time, earning the title of “Father of Scholasticism.” As a theologian, Anselm was a formidable spokesman for the Scholastic movement, creating an ontological argument for God, using a simple notion that the existence of the Creator proves his being. He coined the term Credo ut intelligam (“I believe in order to understand”), thereby anticipating such philosophical innovations as those of Thomas Aquinas, Rene Descartes, and Karl Barth. Among his notable writings were Monologum (Monolgue), Cur Deus Home? (Why did God Become Man?), and Proslogium (Addition). He also spoke for the abolition of slave trading and the importance of priestly celibacy.

Anselm died in Canterbury on April 21, 1109, and his secretary, Eadmer, wrote his life. Anselm was canonized in 1494 and made a Doctor of the Church in 1720. Anselm is credited with miracles, and tradition states that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him.

To be declared a Doctor of the Church, you have to meet three basic requirements:

1. First, you must have lived a life of exemplary holiness, or insignis vitae sanctitas (outstanding sanctity). In short, you have to be a saint.

   
   

2. Second, to be a Doctor of the Church you must have deepened the whole Church's understanding of the Catholic Faith with emins doctrina (eminent teaching). Which is to say, sanctity isn't enough. There are thousands of saints, but only 37 Doctors of the Church. To be a Doctor one must do more than just live the Faith. Rather, one must significantly and profoundly contribute to our understanding of Divine Revelation, helping us to know more deeply some truth about God and His actions in the World.
   

3. And third, a pope must officially declare you a Doctor. That being said, as the Church understands it, when a pope declares someone a Doctor of the Church, he's not so much making someone a Doctor as he is recognizing what the Holy Spirit has already done - that He has conferred the charism of Doctor upon them.