Today, Rome is home to the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Anselm. It is a place that brings together prayer, study, and governance, precisely the three activities that characterized the life of Saint Anselm of Aosta. He is also known as Anselm of Bec and Anselm of Canterbury.

A monk with a deep spiritual life, an excellent educator of young people, a theologian with an extraordinary capacity for speculative thought, a wise leader, and an uncompromising defender of the Church's freedom, Saint Anselm stands among the most prominent figures of the Middle Ages. At the age of 27, he entered monastic life and was ordained a priest. Upon the death of Abbot Herluin, founder of Bec Abbey, Anselm was unanimously elected to succeed him (1079).

Meanwhile, Lanfranc of Pavia, Abbot of Caen, became the new Archbishop of Canterbury and asked Saint Anselm to spend some time with him to instruct the monks and assist him. After Lanfranc's death, Anselm was chosen to succeed him as Archbishop of Canterbury (1093). Saint Anselm defended the Church against undue interference from political authorities. In 1103, his fidelity even cost him the bitterness of exile. In 1106, Saint Anselm was able to return to England, where he was welcomed with great rejoicing by the clergy and the people.

—He devoted the final years of his life primarily to the moral formation of the clergy and intellectual inquiry into theological questions. He was a founder of "scholastic theology," and Christian tradition has bestowed upon him the title of "Magnificent Doctor" because of his deep desire to penetrate the divine mysteries.