The Catholic Contribution to Western Civilization

The Catholic contribution to Western Civilization has been immense. In this entry I want to focus on three areas where everyone recognizes the Catholic contribution: music, art, and exploration. Many of the giants in these areas were members of the Catholic Church. And their contributions flowed from a Catholic view of the world and reality. (Biographical details coming soon)

Some Famous Catholic Composers:

• Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827) - Wrote many religious works, including the Mass in C Major and Missa Solemnis
• Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) - Deeply religious composer who wrote Stabat Mater and a Mass in D Major
• Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) - Wrote 14 Masses, 1 Stabat Mater, 2 Te Deums, and 34 offertories and anthems
• Franz Liszt (1811-1886) - Franciscan tertiary who has been called the "greatest pianist in the annals of music"
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) - Composed the Selve morale e spirituale and the Vespers of 1610, and became a priest later in life
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) - Composed more than 60 pieces of sacred music
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) - "The greatest composer of liturgical music of all time"
• Franz Schubert (1797-1828) - Wrote no less than 30 pieces of sacred music
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Known for his Four Seasons and for being called the "Red Priest," Vivaldi also composed dozens of pieces of sacred music

Some Famous Catholic Artists:

• Fra Angelico (c.1395-1455) - Domincan friar who made invalubale contributions to religious art
• Sandro Botticelli (c.1445-1510) - Renaissance painter who is best known for his Primavera and The Birth of Venus, but who also created many religious works, including frescoes in the Sistine Chapel
• Caravaggio (1571-1610) - Baroque painter who painted many biblical scenes including The Calling of St. Matthew
• Salvador Dali (1904-1989) - Spanish surrealist artist whose most famous religious painting is the Christ of Saint John of the Cross
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) - Renaissance master known for his Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, as well as other religous works
• Donatello (c.1386-1466) - Renaissance sculptor who created many religious works
• El Greco (1541-1614) - Religious works include The Opening of the Fifth Seal and the Holy Trinity
• Jan van Eyck (c.1395-1441) - Flemish painter known for his Annunciation, Madonna and Child, and Ghent Altarpiece
• Giotto (1266-1337) - Founder of the Italian school of painting who dedicated his life to creating religious works
• Michelangelo (1475-1564) - Renaissance giant who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and who sculpted the Pieta
• Raphael (1483-1520) - Renaissance master who has been called "the most famous name in the history of painting"
• Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) - Flemish Baroque painter known for his Counter-Reformation altarpieces, portraits, and landscapes
• Titian (c.1490-1576) - Has been called "the greatest of Venetian painters"

Some Famous Catholic Explorers

• Vasco Núñez de Balboa (c.1475-1519) - First European to reach the Pacific from the New World
• John Cabot (c.1450-c.1499) - Discovered parts of North America
• Samuel de Champlain (c.1567-1635) - Explorer who founded New France and Quebec City
• Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) - Discovered the Americas
• Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510-1554) - Explored the southwestern United States
• Bartolomeu Dias (c.1451-1500) - Led the first European expedition to sail around Africa's Cape of Good Hope
• Vasco da Gama (c.1460-1524) - Discovered an ocearn route from Portugal to the East
• Louis Jolliet (1645-1700) - Explored the Mississippi River with Marquette
• Juan Ponce de León (1474-1521) - Led the first European expedition to Florida
• Ferdinand Magellan (c.1480-1521) - His expedition was the first to circumnavigate the globe
• Jacques Marquette (1637-1675) - Jesuit priest, who along with Louis Jolliet, mapped the northern portions of the Mississippi River
• Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) - Started the first school for oceanic navigation
• Marco Polo (c.1254-1324) - One of the first Europeans to travel into Mongolia and China
• Robert de LaSalle (1643-1687) - Explored the Great Lakes region of the United States; earlier in his life he had been a member of the Jesuits
• Hernando de Soto (c.1496-1542) - First European to cross the Mississippi River; also explored the southeastern United States
• Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) - America was named after Vespucci in 1507; first to discover that the Americas were separate from the continent of Asia