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Nicolaus Steno

Blessed
Nicolas Steno
Vicar Apostolic of Nordic Missions
Portrait of Steno as bishop
Portrait of Steno as bishop
See Titiopolis
Appointed 21 August 1677
by Pope Innocent XI
Term ended 5 December 1686
Predecessor Valerio Maccioni
Successor Friedrich von Tietzen
Other posts Titular Bishop of Titiopolis
Orders
Ordination 13 April 1675
Consecration 19 September 1677
by Saint Gregorio Barbarigo
Personal details
Birth name Niels Steensen
Born (1638-01-01)1 January 1638
[NS: 11 January 1638]
Copenhagen, Denmark-Norway
Died 25 November 1686(1686-11-25) (aged 48)
[NS: 5 December 1686]
Schwerin, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Buried Basilica of San Lorenzo, Italy
Nationality Danish
Denomination Roman Catholic
Parents
  • father: Steen Pedersen
  • mother: Anne Nielsdatter
Occupation
Previous post
Coat of arms Coat of arms of Bishop Nicolas Steno. The cross symbolizes faith and the heart, the natural sciences.
Sainthood
Feast day 5 December
Venerated in 1686
Beatified 23 October 1988
Rome, Vatican City
by Pope John Paul II

Nicolas Steno (Danish: Niels Steensen; Latinized to Nicolaus Stenonis or Nicolaus Stenonius; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686[NS: 11 January 1638 – 5 December 1686]) was a Danish scientist, a pioneer in both anatomy and geology who became a Catholic bishop in his later years. Steno was trained in the classical texts on science; however, by 1659 he seriously questioned accepted knowledge of the natural world. Importantly he questioned explanations for tear production, the idea that fossils grew in the ground and explanations of rock formation. His investigations and his subsequent conclusions on fossils and rock formation have led scholars to consider him one of the founders of modern stratigraphy and modern geology.

Born to a Lutheran family, Steno converted to Catholicism in 1667. After his conversion, his interest for natural sciences rapidly waned giving way to his interest in theology. At the beginning of 1675, he decided to become a priest. Four months after, he was ordained in the Catholic clergy in Easter 1675. As a clergyman, he was later appointed Vicar Apostolic of Nordic Missions and Titular Bishop of Titopolis by Pope Innocent XI. Steno played an active role in the Counter-Reformation in Northern Germany. He was venerated as a saint after his death and the Roman Catholic canonization process was begun in 1938. Pope John Paul II beatified Steno in 1988.


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Wikipedia

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