1. Copernicus (1473–1543)
Remember Copernicus?! The Catholic priest who practiced medicine and then went into astronomy developing heliocentrism. He discovered that the earth is not the center of the universe, not even of this solar system. He is believed to have entered the priesthood later in life. His contributions to astronomy revolutionized the field and the world.
2. Albertus Magnus, O.P. (before 1200 – 1280)
What’s a list of major intellectual achievements without a Dominican or two on the list?! Fr. Albertus Magnus is the patron saint of the natural sciences and a Doctor of the Church because of his great work in in physics, logic, metaphysics, biology, and psychology.
3. Georges LemaĆ®tre (1894–1966)
Belgian priest and father of the Big Bang Theory. Fr. Lemaitre was a contemporary of, and based his work on Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity. Lemaitre also spent time serving as the Director of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.4. Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
Gregor Mendel was an Augustinian Friar who was the founder of the modern science of genetics. Yep! The study of genetics was started by a Catholic priest. If you have taken a science class and had to learn the terms “recessive” and “dominant” it is thanks to Fr. Mendel.5. Giuseppe Mercalli (1850–1914)
Priest, volcanologist, and director of the Vesuvius Observatory who is best remembered today for his Mercalli scale for measuring earthquakes which is still in use. Yes, the scientific inquiry of Catholics knows no bounds, even volcanoes and earthquakes have been studied.
6. William of Ockham (c. 1288 – c. 1348)
Have you heard of Ockham’s Razor? He is the Franciscan Scholastic who wrote significant works on logic, physics, and theology; known for Ockham’s Razor. Yet, another Catholic priest’s whose work had a huge impact on the natural sciences.7. Giovanni Battista Riccioli (1598–1671)
Jesuit astronomer who authored Almagestum novum, an influential encyclopedia of astronomy. He was the first person to measure the rate of acceleration of a freely falling body; created a selenograph with Father Grimaldi who now adorns the entrance at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Catholic priests remembered at the Smithsonian!
8. Francesco Maria Grimaldi (1618 – 1663)
There are a lot of Jesuit priest-scientists! Fr. Grimaldi was an Italian Jesuit priest, mathematician and physicist who taught at the Jesuit college in Bologna. A crater on the moon is named Grimaldi after him.
9. Nicolas Steno (1638-1686)
Nicholas Steno made great strides in anatomy and geology. He eventually became a Catholic Bishop. Various parts of the body are named after him: Stensen’s duct, Stensen’s gland, Stensen’s vein, and Stensen’s foramina. He is also the founder of the study of fossils.