Saint Thomas Aquinas is usually recognized for his intellectual greatness, but not always for his pious and cordial soul. It is not very frequent – and it should be – that it is remembered that he was the one who composed the Eucharistic hymns “Put Lingua” y “Only then”, as well as other excellent songs incorporated into the liturgical tradition. Both hymns were commissioned by the Pope for the feast of the Body of Christ. Likewise, it is generally forgotten that her devotion to the Virgin Mary was such that in her notebooks she always wrote “Hail Mary” and dedicated a treatise to her on the Hail Mary prayer.
Some tradition holds that Jesus Christ appeared to him and said: “Thomas, you have spoken well of me. What do you want in exchange?” To which Saint Thomas responded: “Lord: the only thing I want is to love you, love you very much, and please you more and more.”
At the end of his days he was sent by Pope Gregory X to the Council of Lyon, but he fell ill on the way. He was received into the Cistercian monastery of Fosanova where he remained until his death. Dying, he received the Eucharist and pronounced these words: “Now I receive You, my Jesus, who paid with your blood the price of the redemption of my soul. All the teachings that I wrote manifest my faith in Jesus Christ and my love for the Holy Catholic Church, of whom I profess myself an obedient son.”
Saint Thomas Aquinas left for the Father’s House on March 7, 1274 at the age of 49. His body was taken to Toulouse Cathedral on January 28 of the following year. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1567.