1) St. Albert the Great (1200-1280), shown in a Dominican habit and doctor’s hat, is a Doctor of the Church. He taught Thomas Aquinas in Cologne, Germany. In 1260, he was appointed Bishop of Ratsibon, Germany, a position from which he resigned just two years later. His treatises fill thirty-eight volumes, and include works on astronomy, chemistry, geography, and physiology. Because of the breadth of his expertise, he was called the Doctor Univeralis.
2) Aristotle stands on the left in the traditional garb of a Greek scholar. The scroll he holds spells out in Greek letters ‘Metaphysica’. Over his head, what appears to be a halo is really a nimbus, which is similar to the laurel leaf crown that emperors wore.
3) St. John the Evangelist holds a quill and a book. The winged eagle is the traditional symbol for the author of the fourth Gospel.
4) St. Albert defends St. Thomas Aquinas in Paris before an assembly of Dominican friars.
5) St. Albert preaches at the door of the cathedral at Ratisbon, Germany. Pope Alexander IV chose St. Albert as Bishop of Ratisbon because the city was in a poor state spiritually and temporally.
6) St. Albert teaches St. Thomas Aquinas. Dressed in the professorial garb of his day, Albert stands behind the young Aquinas, who holds a book representing the Summa Theologiæ, his masterpiece of Catholic theology. The inscription repeats St. Albert’s famous prophecy regarding his pupil. Some thought St. Thomas was stupid because he was a quiet man, but St. Albert rebuked them prophetically, “You call this man a dumb Sicilian ox. But I declare to you that so loud will be his bellowing in doctrine that it will resound throughout the world.”
7) St. Albert leads the white horse of Lauingen, his birth place, which legend tells us could only be led by him. This is taken to symbolize Albert’s ability to drag knowledge out of the four corners of the world.
8) St. Albert studies the habits of an eagle. The nest has three eggs. Albert has a quill pen and book in which he records everything. The inscription reads, ‘Saint Albert studying the habits of eagles’. Albert wrote extensively on the nature of animals. For a period of 1,000 years, he was the only scientific botanist of note. He also studied and wrote on zoology and cosmology. Christopher Columbus studied his work, and a manuscript annotated by Columbus is extant in Seville, Spain.
9) St. Albert had a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary. Here he erects a wayside shrine in her honor.
10) Mary appears in a vision to St. Albert as he studies the works of Aristotle. As a youth Albert treated Mary as his mother. Once when Albert found his studies difficult, he considered leaving the Dominicans, but Mary appeared to him and told him to continue his studies and his vocation. St. Albert died while his Dominican brethren sang the traditional hymn sung to Mary upon the death of a friar, the Salve Regina.
