We're back for the first full week of Lent Madness 2021. That's five straight days of heart-stopping saintly thrills. Although the first three matchups haven't been particularly close (Camillus de Lellis, Constantine, and Egeria all won handily), a tight race always lurks just around the bracket corner.
Today, it's the Battle of the Greats as Albert the Great squares off against Leo the Great to determine, once and for all, just who is the greatest? (with all due respect to Muhammad Ali, of course).
Over the weekend, in the only Saturday matchup of the season, Egeria saw her way past Tarcisius 61% to 39%. Don't forget you can click on the Bracket Tab to check past results and access the Matchup Calendar to see the upcoming pairings. Now go vote!
Albert the Great
During the Middle Ages, there were few subject areas that Albert didn’t study, contribute to, or lead the way in.
Albert the Great, also known as Albertus Magnus and Albert of Cologne, was a scientist, teacher, theologian, philosopher, prolific writer, physician, German Dominican friar, bishop, and diplomat.
Albert was born around the year 1193, somewhere in Bavaria to a wealthy German family. Albert was educated primarily at the University of Padua in northern Italy, where he began a lifelong interest in the writings of the great Greek philosopher Aristotle. Around this time, Albert reportedly was visited by the Virgin Mary, which convinced him to enter the Dominican Order.
He became a master of theology in 1245 and began to teach at the University of Paris, where the highly influential Thomas Aquinas was one of his students. Their relationship grew from teacher/student to friend and colleague. In 1254, Albert was elected prior for the Dominican Order German-speaking province, which kept him busy traveling and attending to the needs of the people. Six years later, he was named bishop of Regensburg, Bavaria, but resigned after three years. Again, his travels took him far, always on foot and never on horseback, thereby earning him the name “Boots the Bishop.”
His lasting influence is far-reaching and ubiquitous. His contributions can be found in all the major scientific fields, from alchemy to zoology. Among his innumerable contributions to the world of knowledge, he is credited as discovering arsenic. Also of significance are his writings about Aristotle.
Albert died November 15, 1280, in Cologne, Germany. Since November 15, 1954, his relics have been located in a Roman sarcophagus in the crypt of the Dominican St. Andreas Church in Cologne. He was named a saint and a doctor of the church on December 15, 1931—one of only 36 named doctors. On December 16, 1941, Pope Pius XII anointed Albert as the patron saint of the natural sciences.
He is the patron saint of medical technicians, natural sciences, philosophers, scientists, and Cincinnati, Ohio—home to Forward Movement!
Collect for Albert the Great
O God, by your Holy Spirit you give to some the word of wisdom, to others the word of knowledge, and to others the word of faith: We praise your Name for the gifts of grace manifested in your servant Albert, and we pray that your Church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Leo the Great
The fifth century was a time of turmoil in the Western Roman Empire. After the death of Theodosius in 395, the empire divided into Eastern and Western portions—and the Eastern Empire (centered in Constantinople) was more prosperous and secure than the Western Empire (centered in Rome).
It was within the unsettled west that Leo the Great served the church. The Western Empire was constantly under threat of invasion from the east and north. Around 440, Leo was sent to Gaul as a peacemaker between two generals whose bickering endangered Gaul’s safety; while he was there, he received word that he had been elected bishop of Rome.
Service as Pope in the middle of the fifth century didn’t carry the prestige it does today. Leo worked to assert the authority of the Roman pontiff as the successor of Peter: he asserted a strong hand in the furthest reaches of the Western Empire over recalcitrant bishops, and he worked energetically in Gaul, Spain, and Africa to combat the anathematized teachings of Manicheans, Pricillians, and Pelagians.
Yet while Leo built up the power of the Roman See, his gifts as a peacemaker left the most profound impression on Christianity as a whole. Debate had continued for centuries across the church as to the nature of Jesus Christ. Leo wrote with authority, dignity, and clarity that Jesus Christ is one person, the Divine Word, in whom human and divine natures are fully united without either confusion or mixture. The Tome of Leo was received by the Council of Chalcedon in 451; upon hearing it, the council is said to have remarked that “Peter has spoken by Leo.”
Leo was not limited to keeping the peace in church disputes. When Attilla the Hun surrounded Rome in 452, Leo personally negotiated with him to accept tribute instead of plundering and destroying the city. Three years later, as the Vandals surrounded Rome, Leo again sought peace. This time his efforts failed, yet his intervention is credited with saving the city from burning and mass slaughter.
His care for the integrity of the church and the safety of the people entrusted to its care commend him to the memory of the church as one of its saints; his feast day is celebrated on November 10.
Collect for Leo the Great
O Lord our God, grant that your church, following the teaching of your servant Leo of Rome, may hold fast the great mystery of our redemption and adore the one Christ, true God and true Man, neither divided from our human nature nor separate from your divine Being; through the same Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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197 comments on “Albert the Great vs. Leo the Great”
Blessed be the Renaissance Man with good “boots” Albert.
Anyone with a brilliant mind ike Albert, who can bring together Christianity and science into his thinking about life, gets my vote. Thanks, Bertie.
Leo the Great Lion Heart! He clarified Christ's nature for all of us and had the courage to meet with the Huns. Without Leo it is possible Albert would be known to us only for his academic prowess.
I had to go with Albert because his great faith was combined with his great intellectual curiosity. Seeing science as contributing to our understanding of God’s great majesty and not in opposition to it, as many Christian sects today have done, is critical to our call to care for all of God’s creation. The thirst for knowledge is not “elitist “; it is for the greater glory of God! (And anyone who taught Aquinas had to be really something!)
Blessed are the Peacemakers... We need more Leos in this world!
A bishop's primary job is UNITY, to maintain unity in the church, unifying the body of the church.
We are all brothers and sisters born in the image of God. Leo gets my vote !
Preach
Leo is creeping up!
Vote for Peace. Vote for Leo
While reading about Albert, as a former EMT, I was thinking, "Well, he's got my vote." But then I read about Leo. Being a peacemaker is really important, but the fact that he defined both the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ, which many cannot understand, put him over the top.
Let's hear it for the Great Leo.
This one was close, because we have two very worthy candidates. I voted for Albert because he had a place in his life for both science and God.
Albert seems to be the logical choice because of his widespread accomplishment. I chose Leo because of his writings about Christ and peacemakers have a difficult job.
Let's see... the "father" of Thomas Aquinus v. the "father" of the Formulation of Calcedon? Wow. A theological dilemma!
I'm going with the peacemaker, and Christ as unity. Go! Leo!
As a retired biologist, I was going to vote for Albert but then Leo's clarification of the God-Man Jesus Christ is foundational to our faith. I voted for Leo because Albert should have instructed his student Aquinas to be less obsessive about 'original sin' and the guilt it has caused for millennia. Although those ideas of Aquinas may have evolved after Albert was enjoying his heavenly reward.
Albert taught another great saint St.Thomas Aquinas, was great scientist and had a cool nickname. St. Albert the great for me!
Why did it take so long to recognize Albert as a saint and doctor? A little suspicious.
Your weekly sideshow was certainly interesting!
I'm really torn today, but I'm end up going with Leo, because while science is really important, making peace is even more so. Besides, I have a soft spot for Leo, whose story brings back memories of singing in the chorus for a production of Verdi's "Atilla," culminating with Leo turning the Hun back from Rome.
I felt drawn to vote for Leo as his example as a peace seeker and a leader speaks of humility and strength of character. That kind of leadership is needed as much now as it was then.
With a child in German Immersion at school who wants to become a scientist, it was always going to be Albert for me!
Scientist versus power broker: after seeing in the past year what happens when the latter trample on the former, I'm going with Albert (who was Great because of his learning and his lasting influence, and obviously couldn't stand being a bishop!).
As a retired Medical Laboratory Scientist (Med Tech) I had to vote for Albert. My paternal grandfather's name was Albert, too.
Negotiation is an art form that requires deep understanding of both yourself and your counterpart(s). The path to that knowledge is what likely influenced Leo's assertion that the human and divine exist as one. True alchemy! Bravo Leo!
What's with all these RC guys? We are Episcopalians not even Uniates!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We inherited quite a number of Roman saints, plus we have those we have added and those recognized by the Orthodox and Coptic churches, so there is a large pool for nominations to be drawn from. If you look at the bracket, you'll see all the names, some of which are not on the Roman list, including who I'd like to see win this year: the Rev. Absalom Jones of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.
Great write up Neva Rae Fox. Going with Leo. I have a brother-in-law named for him.
Leo, Leo, he’s our man!
If he can’t
inspire you to marvel joyfully at the paradoxical union of the two natures of Christ so that you no longer care that you can’t rationally explain it,
No one can!!
Being a Dominican I HAVE to vote for Albertus Magnus, teacher of our brightest light, Thomas Aquinas!
No way I'm voting for Leo, he was anti-Pelagius ... like Josh Hawley.
Hats off to Leo who sacrificed his own opinions and knowledge for a deeper wisdom in action that united churches to gain higher glory to serve the eternal kingdom.
As much as I admire the peacemakers, with two scientist daughters (one in medical research), I have to vote for Albert. Thank you all for the thoughtful and creative comments!
Three generations of my family worshiped at the erstwhile St. Leo Catholic Church on the south side of Chicago. My father, three of his cousins, and 10 of my cousins attended graduated from its grade school. My father was valedictorian of Leo High School's Class of 1933, and two of my male cousins attended it. In addition to that, the dog I adopted two years ago was already named Leo. How could I vote for anyone else?
If it hadn't been for all that, I would have been torn. Having a graduate degree, I admire scholarship. and therefore Albert the Great. It's a toss-up whether our country currently needs more knowledge or more peace. In a perfect world, knowledge would lead to peace. We certainly saw the results of ignorance displayed on January 6.
Come on folks, a peacemaker who staved off Atilla the Hun? You Albert voters have got to be kidding!!!!!