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April 21 Feast Day Honors St. Anselm of Canterbury

The commemoration highlights a medieval thinker known for defending church independence.

Overview

  • St. Anselm of Canterbury, whose feast is observed Tuesday, is the focus of santoral notes that also list St. Conrad of Parzham.
  • Born in Aosta in 1033, Anselm entered the Benedictine order and became abbot of Bec in Normandy.
  • He was named archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 after initially trying to decline the role.
  • He challenged royal control of the Church in England, which led to exiles under William II and later Henry I.
  • He is remembered for the Proslogion and his argument that God is “that than which nothing greater can be conceived.”