The following bio of the early life of St. Thomas Aquinas is taken from Patron Saints Index.
St. Thomas AquinasSon of the Count of Aquino, born in the family castle in Lombardy near Naples.
Educated by Benedictine monks at Monte Cassino, and at the University of Naples.
He secretly joined the mendicant Dominican friars in 1244. His noble family
kidnapped and imprisoned him for a year to keep him out of sight, and deprogram
him, but he rejoined his order in 1245.
St. Thomas Aquinas is a
Doctor of the Church and wrote the
Summa Theologica.