Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Saint Albertus Magnus was born around the year 1200 in Lauingen, in what is now Bavaria, Germany. Educated at the University of Padua, he was drawn to a life of holiness and entered the Dominican Order, devoting himself to prayer, study, and teaching across Europe. As a master of theology and professor in Paris, he formed generations of students, most famously Saint Thomas Aquinas. Albert’s great service to the Church was to engage the learning of his age with faith: he commented on nearly all of Aristotle, sifted insights from Muslim philosophers, and showed how careful reasoning and reverent theology can walk together. Chosen provincial of the Dominicans, he governed with wisdom, and later served humbly as bishop of Regensburg, traveling his vast diocese on foot. Known as a peacemaker and mediator, he defended sound doctrine and strengthened Christian learning. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, he is honored as patron of natural scientists, naturalists, and philosophers, and is also a patron for several university faculties. His feast day is November 15.

Saint Leopold III was born in 1073 at the Babenberg castle in Gars am Kamp, in what is now Austria, the son of Margrave Leopold II and Ida of Formbach. Formed in the diocese of Passau under the influence of the reforming bishop Altmann, he grew into a ruler known for both firmness and faith. At just twenty-two he succeeded his father as Margrave of Austria, and through his marriage to Agnes of Germany—widow of Frederick of Hohenstaufen and sister of Emperor Henry V—he helped secure greater standing and stability for his land. Though considered for election as Holy Roman Emperor in 1125, he humbly declined. Leopold is especially venerated for renewing Christian life through the founding of monasteries, above all Klosterneuburg in 1108, as well as Heiligenkreuz, Kleinmariazell, and Seitenstetten—centers of prayer, learning, and cultivation in a still-forested territory. He also fostered the growth of towns such as Vienna and Krems. Canonized in 1485, he became patron of Austria and is also invoked in places such as Abetone and Follonica. He died on November 15, 1136; his feast day is November 15.