St. Thomas of Villanova: the Augustinian friar who gave away even his bed

St. Thomas of Villanova (1486-1555) is remembered as one of the great models of the Augustinian Family, outstanding for his profound charity and generosity. He was born in Fuenllana, a small town in the province of Ciudad Real (Spain). His childhood was marked by the example of his parents and teachers in compassion towards the needy. In fact, since he was a child he showed a detached heart: more than once he returned home without clothes because he had given them to the poor he found, despite the fact that his family was well-to-do. This early sensitivity to the underprivileged eventually earned him the nicknames “Almsgiver of God” and “Archbishop of the Poor,” reflecting the mission of service that would define his entire life .

Vocation and life as an Augustinian friar

Thomas studied arts and theology at the University of Alcala, where he obtained a solid humanistic formation. However, feeling the religious call, he entered the Augustinian convent of Salamanca in 1516 and professed his vows as a friar on November 25, 1517. He was ordained a priest the following year and soon began to carry out important responsibilities within the Order: he was successively master, prior of his convent, visitator general and even prior provincial in the Augustinian provinces of Andalusia and Castile. Those who knew him during this period emphasize his commitment to community life and the observance of the Rule, combining great practical intelligence with humility and deep spirituality.

His lifestyle as a friar was austere to the extreme. It is said that he sold the humble straw mattress in which he slept in order to obtain money to give to the needy. No personal luxuries: Thomas embodied the Augustinian ideal of living with evangelical simplicity. At the same time, he preached with fervor and clarity, achieving fame as a great sacred orator. Emperor Charles V himself, who attended his sermons, exclaimed in admiration: “This monsignor can even move stones!”, underlining the impact his words had on the audience. Even more eloquent than his sermons, however, was his life witness: for Thomas, authentic charity demanded not only giving alms, but helping the poor to really get out of misery. In his writings he left sentences that reflect this vision: “Charity is not only giving, but bringing the needy out of need and freeing them from it whenever possible,” he taught, stressing that help should seek fundamental solutions and not merely momentary palliatives.

Friar Thomas’ dedication transcended frontiers. In 1533, during his service as provincial, he sent the first Augustinian missionaries to the New World, dispatching a group of friars to Mexico to bring the Gospel there. This decision made him a pioneer of the Augustinian mission in America, demonstrating his apostolic zeal and universal vision of charity. He was also named confessor and spiritual advisor to Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of Germany, a position from which he maintained his simplicity, knowing that he was confessing to the most powerful man in Christendom.

Archbishop of Valencia and “Father of the poor”.

In 1544, Tomás’ reputation for holiness and wisdom led Charles V to propose him as archbishop of Valencia, a diocese that had been without a resident pastor for more than a century. Thomas, true to his humility, initially resisted with all his might to accept such a dignity, even begging to be excused. Only when his religious superiors ordained him under holy obedience did he agree to assume the episcopal office. Even then, he remained faithful to his austere spirit: tradition has it that he arrived in Valencia incognito one rainy night, accompanied only by another friar, and asked for lodging in the local Augustinian convent like any itinerant religious, saying that it was enough for him to sleep on a mat on the floor. When the friars discovered who this humble guest was, they were astonished; Thomas, who was now their archbishop, thus gave an example of simplicity from the first moment.

Upon taking possession of the archdiocese, Tomás de Villanueva’s priority was to care for the poorest and to reform the life of the clergy and the people. He found a diocese with great material and spiritual challenges, and he set out to revitalize it on all fronts. He renounced any personal benefit from his position: when the notables of Valencia offered him the traditional welcome gift – some 4,000 silver coins –the new archbishop gave them all to the hospitals and charities, declaring that “the poor need this more than I. What luxuries and comforts can a simple friar like me need?”. This initial gesture set the tone for his pastoral government.

As archbishop, Thomas continued to live practically as a friar and turned the bishop’s palace into a haven of charity. Every day, hundreds of needy people came to the doors of his house, and he had given orders that no one should leave empty-handed. He distributed food, clothes, money, medicine, whatever was needed. He had special compassion for the most vulnerable groups: he personally cared for the sick, took in orphaned children and cared for poor young girls. In fact, it is said that in the eleven years of his archbishopric, he ensured that there was not a single poor girl in the city without a dowry to get married, since he himself provided them with a trousseau or economic aid when the occasion arose. He organized the social assistance of the diocese in an effective and permanent way, creating schools for abandoned children and relief structures for the most needy. His priorities were clear: the goods of the Church should serve the people, not the clergy. He repeated to the rich and wealthy their grave duty to help with their surpluses those who have nothing, urging them to use their money to help their neighbor instead of on useless luxuries.

Thomas preached by example and by word. In his sermons, he relentlessly exhorted active mercy. “If you want God to hear your prayers, listen to the voice of the poor,” he cried, “if you want God to anticipate your desires, provide for the needy without waiting for them to ask. Anticipate the needs of those who are ashamed to beg…To make them beg is to make them buy it.” With this clear language he taught that true religion implied social justice and concrete compassion. Even in the face of those who criticized him for “giving too much” or for indiscriminately helping vagrants, St. Thomas replied that his first duty was not to deny help to anyone who needed it, being in his power to do so, and that if anyone abused charity, “he will answer to God” for that misuse . In this way he defended the primacy of mercy over any human judgment.

Generosity until the end of his days

The life of St. Thomas of Villanova was coherent until the end. In September 1555, feeling the hour of his death approaching, he suffered a severe angina pectoris. Faithful to his convictions of total detachment, he immediately ordered that all the alms and money left in his house be distributed among the poor. He did not want to leave anything that was his own, even in those last moments. In fact, tradition points out a shocking and significant detail: Thomas no longer even had his own bed in which to die, since the only bed he used had been given to a needy person before he died. Thus the Gospel ideal of radical poverty was literally fulfilled in him. The saint went so far as to say to those around him: “If you find me, gentlemen, at the time of my death a real, consider my soul lost and do not bury me in a sacred place”, that is, that he would consider his salvation in danger if he died possessing even a coin. These were not empty words: he left this world without material goods, rich only in mercy and trust in God.

A 17th century oil painting depicts St. Thomas of Villanova as archbishop distributing alms. He carries a bag of money in his hand, a symbol of the charity he tirelessly practiced with the poorest.

According to his biographers, in his last moments Thomas asked that Holy Mass be celebrated in his room. At the end of the Eucharist, he exclaimed with peace and joy: “How good is Our Lord! In exchange for our loving Him on earth, He gives us His heaven forever”. These were his words of farewell before he gave up his soul on September 8, 1555, at the age of 66. The friar archbishop died in the same poverty with which he had lived, mourned by rich and poor alike, who felt they had lost a true father.

The imprint of St. Thomas of Villanova lasted long after his death. His example as a holy, wise and merciful bishop was deeply felt in the Church of his time, to the point that he was beatified in 1618 and canonized in 1688. Today the Church celebrates his feast day on October 10 and proposes him as a model of a diligent pastor and “father of the poor”. His life shows how far generosity can go when the Gospel is lived without compromise: Thomas gave everything he had, even his own bed, out of love for God in those in need. And this total dedication places him forever on the list of the great saints of charity.