Born in 1033, Anselm was motivated to enter the monastery in Bec of Normandy, due to the reputation of the great teacher, Lanfranc.  Anselm became a monk at the age of 27, and a student and close friend of Lanfranc, eventually succeeding him as prior and abbot of Bec.

After the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, William I replaced the English hierarchy with Normans, and Lanfranc was sent as archbishop of Canterbury.  Three years after Lanfranc’s death, Anselm was in England (1093) and was forcibly made archbishop.  Neither and administrator nor politician by nature, he preserved nonetheless.  Though his encouragement of English devotions, he helped heal the wounds of the Conquest on the English.

Anselm’s fame lies in his role as theologian and philosopher.  His argument for the existence of God still holds strong appeal.  In his concern for the oppressed, he was one of the first opponents of the slave trade.

Anselm died in 1109.  Never formally canonized, he was made a Doctor of the Church in 1720.