In his 1947 encyclical on St. Benedict of Nursia, Pope Pius XII praised the great saint: “Like a star in the darkness of night, Benedict of Nursia brilliantly shines.”1 If Benedict (480–547), a patron saint of Europe, shines like a star, his Order of Saint Benedict has illuminated history with a thousand constellations. Guided by the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Benedictines have profoundly influenced the development of Western Civilization. In the words of Thomas Woods:
Mere statistics can hardly do justice to the Benedictine achievement, but by the beginning of the fourteenth century, the order had supplied the Church with 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7,000 archbishops, 15,000 bishops, and 1,500 canonized saints. At its height, the Benedictine order could boast 37,000 Monasteries. —How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods Jr.2
Beyond these ecclesiastical and spiritual achievements, Benedictines have also made significant contributions to the development of science. Famous Benedictine scientists include:
The Benedictine spirit of sanctity and science found a welcoming home at Kremsmünster Abbey, founded by Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria, in 777. A jewel of Upper Austria, the Abbey now features:
The Kremsmünster Observatory (known as the “mathematical tower”) was constructed between 1748 and 1758. The nine-storey structure
was meant to house a universal museum in which the visitor would be led from inanimate nature (minerals and fossils on the second floor) over to lower living nature (plants and animals), on to the human sciences and arts (art chamber and picture gallery on the third and fourth floors), then on to the cosmos (the observatory on the sixth floor) and finally to the reflection of God (the chapel on the seventh floor).3
The observatory’s natural history collection was compiled by Benedictine priest-scientist Leonhard Angerer (1861–1932). Highlights include:
The observatory has remained a center for scientific advancement, particularly in:
The mathematical tower is more than a museum; it is also a center for scientific advancement, particularly in the earth sciences and in astronomy. Starting in 1762, the observatory’s uninterrupted series of daily temperature measurements and weather data collection carried out by Benedictine scientists is one of the longest in the world. In 1851, a Foucault pendulum was installed to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. The observatory continues to contribute to studies of gravimetry (the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field) and the Earth’s magnetic field.
Throughout the centuries, numerous Benedictines have been engaged in scientific work at Krensmünster. Four directors of the observatory deserve special attention.
Placidus Fixlmillner (1721–1791) entered the Benedictines in 1737 and served as director of the observatory from 1762 to 1791. Fixlmillner is known in particular for his studies of the planet Uranus. Combining his own observations with those of other astronomers, he calculated new elements of the planet’s orbit. He also made an accurate estimate of the radius of the Earth’s orbit (the astronomical unit) and observed the 1769 transit of Venus, the occultation of Saturn in 1775, the parallax of the Sun, sunspots, star positions, and stellar aberration.4
Thaddäus Derfflinger (1748–1824) succeeded Fixlmillner as director and published many of his predecessor’s observations. Derflinger made important observations of sunspots from 1802 to 1824, a period during the Dalton Minimum when fewer sunspots were observed. His observations were celebrated as a primary reference in a 2020 article in the prestigious The Astrophysical Journal.5
Derfflinger was succeeded by Bonifaz Schwarzenbrunner (1790–1830). Schwarzenbrunner observed eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites, stellar occultations, comets, and sunspots. He wrote a three-volume work on practical astronomy. He also updated the observatory’s scientific instruments, determined the observatory’s geographical position, and made monthly observations of magnetic declination.6
Marian Koller (1792–1866) served as director of the observatory from 1830 to 1847. At the request of the British Astronomical Society, he determined the positions of 208 fixed stars. He also continued the observatory’s work in the Earth sciences. He built a magnetic observatory and helped found the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics in Austria.7
In our admiration for these Catholic scientists, let us reserve ultimate praise for the Author of the created world. As we read in the Catechism:
“The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are.”8
St. Benedict of Nursia, pray for us!
Footnotes:
1. Fulgens Radiatur: https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_21031947_fulgens-radiatur.html
2. Woods, Thomas E., Jr. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Regnery History, 2005.
3. Sternwarte Kremsmünster: http://www.specula.at/english.htm.
4. Biographical Encylopedia of Astronomers
5. “Thaddäus Derfflinger's Sunspot Observations during 1802–1824: A Primary Reference to Understand the Dalton Minimum" https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ab65c9
6. https://www.biographien.ac.at/oebl/oebl_S/Schwarzenbrunner_Bonifaz_1790_1830.xml
7. https://www.biographien.ac.at/oebl/oebl_K/Koller_Marian_1792_1866.xml
8. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 159.