St. John of Avila
"At this point, let us pause for a moment to appreciate the two saints who today have been added to the elect number of Doctors of the Church. Saint John of Avila lived in the sixteenth century. A profound expert on the sacred Scriptures, he was gifted with an ardent missionary spirit. He knew how to penetrate in a uniquely profound way the mysteries of the redemption worked by Christ for humanity. A man of God, he united constant prayer to apostolic action. He dedicated himself to preaching and to the more frequent practice of the sacraments, concentrating his commitment on improving the formation of candidates for the priesthood, of religious and of lay people, with a view to a fruitful reform of the Church."
--Pope Benedict XVI
St. Hildegard of Bingen
--Pope Benedict XVI
In the Church's wisdom, the Pope has named two new "Doctors of the Church." Men, and women, proclaimed "Doctor of the Church" must meet the following three criteria: eminent learning, a high degree of sanctity, and proclamation by the Church. This third condition must be by declaration of the Supreme Pontiff or by a general council (Benedict XVI). "The decree is issued by the Congregation of Sacred Rites and approved by the pope, after a careful examination, if necessary, of the saint's writings. It is not in any way an ex cathedra decision, nor does it even amount to a declaration that no error is to be found in the teaching of the Doctor. It is, indeed, well known that the very greatest of them are not wholly immune from error." --Catholic Encyclopedia
For a bit of history...
The first "Doctors", called the "Four Doctors", proclaimed were: St. Gregory the Great, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and St. Jerome.
Three Eastern Church (later called Orthodox) Doctors were given the title at the time of Leo VI, the wise: St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil, and St. Gregory Nazianzen. They were also called the "Three Hierarchs" in the East. A fourth Eastern Doctor was added later to make the Eastern and Western Doctors even in number: St. Athanasius.
The Four Doctors (each of the Western and Eastern Catholic Church) were not added to until the 16th century: St. Thomas Aquinas and then later St. Bonaventure.
Then the following were added in the 18th century: St. Anselm, St. Isidore, St. Peter Chrysologus, and St. Leo I.
Then, added in the 19th century were: St. Peter Damian, St. Bernard, St. Hilary, St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Francis de Sales, St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. John Damascene, and the Venerable Bede.
The 20th century gave us these: St. Ephraem, St. Peter Canisius, St. John of the Cross, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Albertus Magnus, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Lawrence of Brindisi, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
As of October 7, 2012, there are thirty-five "Doctors of the Church," of which four are women.
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