We’ll reveal the Top 10 Catholic priests, Legendary Catholic priests, and Famous Catholic priests which you need to know. The Catholic church has played a major role in bringing the world to what it is today. And it won’t be strange to learn that there are certain Catholic priests who went an extra mile in order to preserve and maintain the teachings of Jesus Christ through the church. They denied themselves and the pleasures of this world for the sake of the Gospel. Our highest appreciation to them can only be shown through our desire to learn and appreciate their history. Keeping a memory of these heroes in the Universal Church is worth it.
Apart from influencing the theology which we have today, these great men also brought light in the way science and philosophy are understood. For some of these priests, it took them their whole live time and a lot of sacrifices to lay a solid foundation on how Catholic Christians should think, live, and obey God. The whole truth is that we won’t be able to completely list all these great and legendary Catholic priests who paid the price of what we have today in terms of sound and solid doctrine directly received from Jesus Christ and his immediate Apostles.
Whatever the case, we are called up on to narrow our long list of legendary and famous Catholic priests to just 10. And this is exactly what we will do. But this does not mean that the others not found in our list are in anyway less important. You might ask yourself of what importance is it in knowing these men. Their actions and courage in doing God’s work will certainly encourage and motivate you in successfully running the christian race. Let us now get into our main subject matter of listing the Top 10 Catholic priests that you ought to know.
Top 10 Catholic priests, Legendary Catholic Priests, and Famous Catholic Priests
Saint Paul
I love St Paul just as every serious christian would do. He stands forever as one of the greatest immediate Apostle of Jesus Christ. It is without doubt that he taught more than any other Apostle in his days. The evidences are clearly observed in the Bible where he wrote the greatest portion of the new testament. May his soul rest in perfect peace as he awaits the crown of success in winning the christian race. He was the first to Christianize the west. He abandoned everything and stepped out to teach the gospel which we know today. Thanks be to God that most of his teachings were preserved in writing. He taught on the most essential aspects in a Christians life like loving God, loving your neighbor, honoring God by faith, living with the Holy Spirit, managing a christian gathering, maintaining faith in God, and honoring God through Marriage. That’s why we’ll be making a mistake to talk about the Top 10 Catholic priests without making mention of St Paul.
St Jerome
Apart from featuring in our list of the Top 10 Catholic priests, St Jerome also features in the list of legendary Catholic priests. Every christian ought to know the history of St Jerome and his mighty contribution to our salvation through Jesus Christ. He is credited to be the first person to have ever completely translated the first Bible to his vernacular tongue which was Latin. Until then, no one could get access to Bible reading without first studying the Greek or Hebrew language. But thanks to St Jerome, everyone who understood Latin could easily and freely read the Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ which brings salvation to all those who welcome Him. Even more astonishing and amazing is the fact that he spent 40 full years of his life working on this translation. Ask yourself if you can do such and you’ll get the value which should be attributed to St Jerome in the Christian church. His translation was based on the old testament, Latin, and several Greek manuscripts on Christianity. His translation up till date still makes up for the only Official Catholic Bible.
Father Andrew Apostoli
Father Andrew Apostoli being the founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal definitely merits a place among our list of the Top 10 Catholic priests. This is a highly strict holy order in the Catholic church that lives the austere Franciscan life to the letter. They have a focus and aim which is that of living among the poorest people. If it happens that the community within which they live eventually improves on its level of wealth and standard of living, they’ll relocate to a more deprived area. During the year 1988, Father Andrew Apostoli also influenced the creation of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal. And today, he is listed among the most Famous Catholic priests. He’s also known to be an expert on matters concerning the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima. Most of his works were directed towards creating a happy stay and love between Christians and Muslims. He believed that Our Lady’s appearance at Fatima which is a place named after Prophet Mohamed’s beloved daughter was an indication of Her love for the Muslims.
St Albertus Magnus
St Albertus is one of the most Famous Catholic priests in the world of Philosophy and Science. The rate at which he influenced these subjects during the middle ages made his superiors attribute him the title of one of only 33 “Doctors” of the Church. He turned out to be the first person to deeply comment on most of the works and philosophical thoughts of Aristotle. These comments when a far when in readjusting several errors in the philosophical world. Thanks to his comments, science and philosophy were clearly defined to what we have today. In addition to this, he also contributed much for the gospel’s sake. He also brought enlightenment in logical thinking, botany, phrenology, and zoology. That’s why we cannot keep him out of our list of the Top 10 Catholic Priests who brought great amelioration to the lives of many. In order words, he is considered as one of the greatest thinkers of the middle age.
St Ignatius of loyola
St Ignatius features in our list of Top 10 Catholic priests for his great work in boosting the Catholic doctrine line and its continuity. Another amazing thing you should know about him is hat he is the founder of the Jesuits holy order in the Catholic Church. Since creation this holy order of educator priest has brought significant improvements and new ideas in the scientific world. Most of their scientific works during the 17th century are held today as the foundation for experimental physics. Their efforts and determinations led to the amelioration and development of barometers, microscopes, reflecting telescopes, pantographs and pendulum clocks.
St Thomas Aquinas
St Thomas Aquinas abandoned the wealth and riches of his family to join the Dominican holy order of priesthood by the 13th century. He was of a calm and simple nature. He was not interested in the things of this world, rather he was striving for heavenly achievements. He was highly concerned about the well being of others, their thinking levels, and their lifestyles. He stepped out and worked towards assisting them with new philosophical points of views. Little did he know that he was going to be one of the greatest philosophers that the world has ever known. His contributions were just so intense that they brought a complete revolution in the world of philosophy. They also influenced many scientific approaches and theories. Today, his foot print is still highly felt in the Catholic Church since his philosophical work on theology is being used as a base in training priests.
Father Gregor Medel
This Catholic priest is known as the father of modern day genetics. Apart from showing a deep interest in doing the things of God, he also concentrated much time on improving the scientific world. He was the first person to come up with theories on genetics although they were not taken serious until the 20 th century.
Father Kevin Doran
Father Kevin is one of the modern days Legendary Catholic priests who is famous for defending and pointing out the importance of celibacy in the lives of priests. His teachings have brought much light on certain christian aspects in the Catholic church. He entered seminary at the age of 17 years. His role as secretary general of the Eucharistic congress took him to the international prominence. He is highly loved by thousands of Christians for his deep scriptural teachings.
Father Chris Riley
Father Chris’s love led him to be ordained as a priest even though he was a teacher by then. He served as a priest for so many years during which he was inspired by God to set up Youths Off the Streets abbreviated YOTS. This organization has as main objective to support destitute young people while meeting their basic needs. It also works on meeting the basic needs of the homeless as well as showing them the love of God. It also strives to provide education to children on the streets and keep them away from alcoholic and drug intakes. The organization also seeks to shelter and comfort refugees. His approach of love towards mankind has led him to join the list Legendary Catholic priests.
Blessed Pope Urban II
Pope Urban was the first priest and pope to have ever launched the first crusade aimed at winning control over the Holy Land. This turned out to be the first of seven major crusades which greatly influenced medieval history. The ongoing unrest within the middle east is there as an impact of this crusade. In addition to this, he also revolutionized leadership in the Catholic Church to what we have today. This was sufficient enough to get him into the list of famous catholic priests. Indeed, he has played a major role in the catholic church. That’s why he was declared “blessed” in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII.
This brings us to the end of our writing on the Top 10 Catholic priests that you should know. Might be you’ll want to read our article entitled Roman Catholic priest near me.
