The College is named after St. Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274), the patron saint of students and Catholic schools. He was born into an aristocratic family but committed himself to a life of prayer, study, research and action in the Dominican order. He is perhaps the greatest of the Doctors of the Church, gaining a strong reputation for his ability to reconcile faith, reason and science. St. Thomas Aquinas was always a man of God – in prayer, his love of the Mass and the Eucharist, his search for Truth, and his generosity to others. St. Thomas Aquinas serves as an excellent role model for our students – he was a man of the heart and humility and a great servant to his community.
St. Thomas Aquinas is also historically connected to Tauranga Moana. On March 7, 1840, when Bishop Pompallier first arrived on the harbour foreshore, he dedicated the Catholic Mission in Tauranga to St. Thomas Aquinas.