10 PRIESTS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

10 PRIESTS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD

Given the Catholic Church's historical sway, it is not unexpected that its adherents—many of whom are ordained religious—have had a tremendous influence on the world we live in. not just through theology, but also through philosophy and science. This list examines eleven priests who produced important discoveries or in other ways altered the way we perceive the world, live our lives, or hold our beliefs. It is hard to rank these religious leaders in any particular order because, in the majority of cases, they are the giants on whose shoulders we aspire to stand (nani gigantum humeris insidentes). There are undoubtedly many more equally outstanding religious works than those on this list, so it is in no way to be regarded a "top 10" list.

10

St jerome

C 347 – 30 September 420

Nobody can dispute the impact of the Bible on the West, whether they are believers or not. The first full translation of the Bible into the language of his day (Latin) is attributed to St. Jerome. For the first time, the average man would be able to read the Bible without having to have knowledge of Greek or Hebrew. Of course, the bulk of those living in the civilised West at the time were Roman citizens, and as a result, they spoke Latin. St. Jerome spoke Latin that was accessible to everyone, not a formal dialect. His translation has had such a significant impact that it continues to be the only one recognised by the Roman Catholic Church as authoritativ e.

9

St Paul

C 5 – C 67

the Apostle deserves the most praise for converting the West to Christianity out of all the apostles. It was his win over St. Peter in a conflict over whether or not to demand that gentile converts adapt to traditional Jewish practises that increased the attraction of the Christian life among people in the Roman Empire and beyond. Without his declaration that conversion did not require circumcision, among other practises, the Church might not have grown as quickly as it did in its early years. In addition, St. Paul's writings on family dynamics and marital behaviour continue to have an impact on a lot of people today (albeit not as much as they did before the 1960s).

8

Father Gregor Mendel

July 20, 1822 – January 6, 1884

Even though Father Mendel's contributions to genetics have had a significant impact on society, it is likely correct to state that they have not yet been fully appreciated. It's possible that in the future, animals (including humans) will be genetically transformed, leading some to claim that Mendel is the father of the super-human. Mendel is of course regarded as the founding father of genetics due to the significance of his contribution to that field. The independent rediscovery of these rules laid the groundwork for the present study of genetics, even though the significance of Mendel's work was not appreciated until the beginning of the 20th century.

7

Blessed Pope Urban II

1042 – 29 July 1099

The first crusade, led by Blessed Pope Urban II, set out to oust the Seljuk Turks from the Holy Land. This was the first of seven important crusades that had a major impact on mediaeval history. The current upheaval in the Middle East is evidence that these crusades still have an impact. In addition, Urban changed the Catholic Church's hierarchy by establishing it in the style of a royal court; this arrangement is still in place today and continues to have an impact on both the way many Catholics conduct their everyday lives and the Church's standing in world politics. He was deemed "blessed" in because his influence on the world was deemed significant enough to place him on the path to sainthood.

6

St Albertus Magnus

1193/1206 – November 15, 1280

St. Albert the Great was one of only 33 "Doctors" of the Church because of his importance in philosophy and science throughout the Middle Ages. He was the first person to offer commentary on nearly all of Aristotle's known writings, exposing the Greek philosophers to scrutiny. Since the Enlightenment was, in part, a protest against the mediaeval doctrines of people like St. Albert, modern philosophy today would be a very different beast without his commentary and his effect on his students. St. Albert wrote in-depth writings on a wide range of topics, including logic, theology, botany, geography, astronomy, astrology, minerals, chemistry, zoology, physiology, phrenology, and more, using reason and observation. He is,

5

Pope Gregory XIII

7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585

Pope Gregory XIII continues to impact each and every one of you who are reading this list (or almost everyone). Since he published the papal bull "Inter gravissimas" on February 24, 1582, announcing that the day after Thursday, October 4, 1582, would not be Friday, October 5, but rather Friday, October 15, 1582, we have been using his calendar. He changed the calendar because the Julian calendar, which has been in use since the Roman era, had years that were 11 minutes too long. The Julian calendar portrays the year as having 365 days and 6 hours, which is 11 minutes longer than it actually is. Initially, there was opposition to the idea since some individuals were concerned that they would lose seven days of pay, but in the end, it was accepted.

4

Nicolaus Copernicus

19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543

Copernicus' eventual ordination as a priest is uncertain because all we know of him is that he accepted minor orders, the first steps in the priesthood, but his notoriety and the potential that he did so nonetheless make him a valuable contribution here. The theory that the Earth and other celestial bodies orbit the Sun instead of being at the centre of the universe was initially put out by Copernicus. This belief persisted up until the 1920s, when it was first demonstrated that the Sun was not the universe's centre. The Copernican revolution, started by Copernicus, was a paradigm shift away from the Ptolemaic model of the sky, which put the Earth at the centre of the universe.

3

St Thomas Aquinas

1225 – 7 March 1274

St. Thomas Aquinas was a humble monk who joined the Dominican order in the 13th century in defiance of his wealthy family. The very modest and unassuming man will achieve such greatness in the fields of philosophy and theology that no one will ever forget his name. He had such a profound impact on philosophical thought that he fundamentally altered its trajectory, paving the way for contemporary philosophers during the Age of Enlightenment. The philosophy of Thomas Aquinas was intended to influence the natural sciences, particularly medicine, and subsequently the daily life of most Europeans. His work on theology (The Summa Theologica), which currently serves as the foundation for most seminary studies and shapes the thinking of other prospective priests, has a lasting impact on the Roman Catholic priesthood.

2

Monseigneur Georges Lemaitre

17 July 1894 – 20 June 1966

The idea of an expanding cosmos was first put forth by Monseigneur Lemaitre, the big bang theory's originator. He was also the first to derive what is now known as "Hubble's Law" and the Hubble Constant thanks to his studies in physics and astronomy. Lemaitre referred to his theory as the "hypothesis of the primordial atom." It is unnecessary to go into detail about this priest's impact on the world because, with a few notable exceptions, almost everyone in the scientific community accepted or still accepts his idea. Lemaitre also contributed to the development of the fast fourier transform algorithm and was one of the first scientists to employ computers for cosmological research.

1

St Ignatius of Loyola

1491 – July 31, 1556

As the creator of the Jesuits, St. Ignatius must have pride of place as the first inclusion in this list. Since the time of their founding, this order of monks who served as educators has been acknowledged as "the single most important contributor to experimental physics in the seventeenth century." Additionally, they "contributed to the advancement of pendulum clocks, pantographs, barometers, reflecting telescopes, and microscopes, as well as scientific disciplines as diverse as magnetism, optics, and electricity. They noticed the coloured bands on Jupiter's surface, the Andromeda nebula, and Saturn's rings, sometimes before anybody else. They posited theories regarding the blood flow (unrelated to Harvey), the potential for flying, the impact of the moon on tides, and the wave-like aspect of light. Furthermore, their contribution