Copernicus: Renaissance Genius

Copernicus has "Conversations with God"

Painted by Jan Matejko.

"I am aware that a philosopher’s ideas are not subject to the judgment of ordinary persons, because it is his endeavor to seek the truth in all things, to the extent permitted to human reason by God." --Nicholas Copernicus (1473–1543)


Danielle Neel, Grade 8

Nicholas Copernicus was the man who shocked the world of astronomy. He found that the Sun was at the center of the "solar" system. This was a controversy because most people, including the leaders of the Church, believed that the Earth was at the center of the cosmos.

Nicholas was born February 19, 1473, in Torun, Poland to a wealthy family. His birth name was Mikolaj Kopernik. This was also his father's name. His father was a prosperous copper trader. His mother, Barbara Watzenrode, came from a wealthy family of merchants. Nicholas was the youngest of their four children.

When he was around 10, his father died and his Uncle Lucas Watzenrode, took him into his care. Watzenrode was a nobleman who became Prince-Bishop of the region of Warmia.

In 1491, at the age of 18, Nicholas went to the University of Cracow where he studied painting, philosophy, and mathematics. Here he called himself Nicholas Copernicus, the Latin form of his name.

In Cracow he took an interest in astronomy. From 1491 to 1495 Albert Brudzewski was one of Nicholas Copernicus' teachers. The University of Cracow was the first university in Europe to establish independent chairs in Mathematics and Astronomy. Brudzewski was a remarkable teacher who impressed his students by his extraordinary knowledge of literature, mathematics and astronomy. In 1490 Brudzewski became a bachelor of theology and lectured on Aristotle's philosophy. These lectures were attended by Copernicus, who himself was always interested in philosophy and theology.

In October 1496 Copernicus went to study mathematics and astronomy at the University of Bologna, where he had been sent by his uncle. Lucas Watzenrode had studied there in the early 1470s.

Copernicus was encouraged by his uncle to gain a thorough knowledge of Roman Law studying its revision by Emperor Justinian and commentators from Bologna, such as Bartolus de Saxoferato and Baldus.

While at the University of Bologna, Copernicus became the assistant to Domenico Maria Novara (1454–1504). Navara was professor of astronomy at the University of Bologna for 21 years.

University of Padua in the 15th century

In 1501 Nicholas went to the University of Padua where he completed his doctorate of law and studied medicine. He became his uncle's personal physician. After his uncle died in 1512, Copernicus became the personal physician to the 4 succeeding bishops of and his confreres from the Warmian chapter in Frombork. Copernicus practiced medicine not only in diagnosing and taking care of his patients but also in personally preparing the prescribed drugs

At Padua, Copernicus studied the writings of ancient medical authorities, such as Hippocrates, Galen, and Avicenna. He also studied anatomy and the healing properties of herbs. As a medical student he was required to accompany his professors when they visited the sick. Copernicus completed the three year degree, and had a reputation as a good physician.

Nicholas’s favorite hobby was astronomy and he formulated his ideas into a booklet called "Little Commentary."

Copernicus died on May 24, 1543. Researchers had spent two centuries trying to identify his grave, before finally locating it in 2005. His remains found positively identified by DNA testing on two strands of hair and a tooth.

A computer reconstruction of Nicolas Copernicus made from the skull discovered in the cathedral in Frombork, northern Poland, in 2005.

Copernicus should be remembered and honored as an example of a Christian who advanced the science of astronomy. He did not see a conflict between science and Christianity, though he recognized that his work was not favored by the Church.

Related reading: Copernicus: The Formula for Genius; Copernicus: Scientist Extraordinaire

Copernicus: Scientist Extraordinaire

Davis Bryant, Grade 8


Nicholas Copernicus was one of the most important scientists of all time. He was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer and a man of profound Christian faith. He formulated a model of the cosmos with the Sun at the center of the universe. His heliocentric model caused a great deal of controversy and the Roman Catholic Church opposed his model. He presented this model in his treatise de revulous oribum colestum.

He was born in Poland and he lived from 1473 to 1543. His father was a merchant from Krakow. His mother was the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Torun in northern Poland. Nicholas was the youngest of four children. His brother was an Augustinian Canon at Formwork.

In 1491 he entered the University of Cracow where he studied mathematics. He also was interested in space, and bought many books about astronomy. In 1496, at the University of Bologna, he lived with the astronomy professor Domenico Maria Novara and they exchanged ideas. This acquaintance sparked his interest in astronomy, a subject he considered "most beautiful and most worth knowing."

In 1508, he started to develop his own solar model. He believed that the further the planet was from the sun, the longer it took to orbit. In 1513 he built his own observatory and he continued to learn about the cosmos.

Even God’s chosen scientists encounter controversy. Around 1514, after 16 years of work, he completed his 40-page commentary “Small Commentary” in which he gave evidence of the heliocentric theory, described in 7 axioms. This work convinced Copernicus that he was right in thinking that the Sun was at the center of our solar system.

Copernicus was a Christian who lived a quiet life. He was hesitant to publish his revolutionary views. Yet Copernicus changed how Europeans came to think about the cosmos. He believed that truth directs our hearts and minds to the Creator. He wrote, "[It is my] loving duty to seek the truth in all things, in so far as God has granted that to human reason."

Copernicus died on May 24, 1543 and was buried in an unmarked grave in the floor of the cathedral of Frombork in Northern Poland. Copernicus was never declared a heretic for his astronomical views because he spoke to few about them. So why did Copernicus have such a humble burial? Jack Repcheck, the author of Copernicus' Secret: How the Scientific Revolution Began, explains that Copernicus was buried in the same way as any other canon in Frombork because at that time, “He was not the iconic hero that he has become."

Copernicus’s death at the age of 70 is not the end of the story, however. In 1992 Pope John Paul II said the church was wrong to condemn Galileo who based his work on that of Copernicus.

In 2004 scientists began searching for the astronomer's remains and discovered his bones. The identity was confirmed through DNA testing. The DNA of the teeth and bones matched that of hairs found in one of Copernicus’s books.

Six years later, on May 21, 2010, the Roman Catholic Church gave permission to Polish priests to rebury Copernicus in a tomb in the cathedral where he once served as canon.

Later many scientists would prove his theories about the solar system to be true. This shows that God can inspire us, and when we pursue truth we can accomplish amazing things. Copernicus should be remembered and honored for his contributions in science and as a man whose life was dedicated to the service of truth.


Related reading: Copernicus: Renaissance Mathematician

Copernicus: Renaissance Mathematician

"I am aware that a philosopher’s ideas are not subject to the judgment of ordinary persons, because it is his endeavor to seek the truth in all things, to the extent permitted to human reason by God." Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)


Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe based on his observations.

Copernicus was born in the city of Torun, in northern Poland on February 19, 1473. He was born into a wealthy family. He was named after his father, Mikolaj Kopernik, who was a prosperous copper trader. His mother, Barbara Watzenrode, came from a wealthy family of merchants. Nicolaus was the youngest of their four children.

At birth Nicolaus was named Mikolaj Kopernik, but he called himself the Latin form of his name, Nicolaus Copernicus, when he went to study at the University of Krakow at age 18. There he studied astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, and the sciences.

When Nicolaus was 10 his father died and Nicolaus became the ward of his uncle, Lucas Watzenrode, a nobleman who became Prince-Bishop of the region of Warmia. For many years Copernicus served as his uncle's secretary and physician and traveled with him as Bishop Lucas visited the churches in his diocese.

Frombork Cathedral

After his uncle died in 1512, Copernicus went to live in the Frombork cathedral chapter. He lived there as a canon until he died on 24 May 1543.