Alcuin of York (c.735 - 804). Philosopher, poet, writer and theologian is a famous scholar and one of our best sources of information for the later eighth century. He was educated in the cathedral school at York, where he became a monk and teacher. He was a deacon at York in 781. He was returning from a visit to Rome when he met the king of the Franks, King Charles the Great, known as Charlemagne (768-814), who recognized in Alcuin a scholar who could help him to achieve a renaissance of learning and reform. At Charlemagne's invitation, Alcuin joined the royal court in 781, and became one of Charlemagne's chief advisers on religious and educational matters. We selected St. Alcuin as a model for our seminary because of his intellect and faithful service to Jesus Christ.

Alcuin was made head of the palace school at Aachen, which was attended by members of the royal court and the sons of noble families, and he established a great library there. He revised the church liturgy and translated the Bible and was responsible for an intellectual movement within the Carolingian empire in which many schools of learning were attached to monasteries and cathedrals, and Latin was restored to a position as a literary language. In 796, Alcuin became abbot of St Martin's monastery at Tours, where he established a school and library.

With Alcuin as inspiration, we organized St. Alcuin House Seminary and the Order of St. Alcuin.