On Sunday, October 7, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named St. Hildegarde of Bingen and St. John of Avila doctors of the Church, the first doctors named during his papacy. He described Hildegarde:
“Saint Hildegard of Bingen, an important female figure of the twelfth century, offered her
precious contribution to the growth of the Church of her time, employing the gifts received from God and showing herself to be a woman of brilliant intelligence, deep sensitivity and recognized spiritual authority.”
The Pope described John:
“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.”
The video of the Romereports story is above; see the text here.
Saint Therese of Lisieux, until now the most recently named doctor of the Church, was the only person named a doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II during his twenty-five years as Popel She was the third woman doctor, so Saint Hildegarde is the fourth.