Pope Francis’ astronomer shares ‘A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars’
As director of the Vatican Observatory, Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno is known informally as “the pope’s astronomer.” / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly” screenshot Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 7, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA). Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, has spent the last 30 years staring at the sky. As the director of the Vatican Observatory, known informally as “the pope’s astronomer,” he has just published his 13th book — “A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars: Exploring Wonder, Beauty, and Science,” which he said he wrote at the suggestion of Loyola Press. “I pulled together a lot of ideas, some of my own experience and some of the history of the Jesuits working on science,” he told “EWTN News Nightly” on Feb. 5. Consolmagno has been the director of the Vatican Observatory since 2015. He told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol that the observatory was officially established in 1891 to “show the world that the Church supports science. And we have been doing that ever since,” he said, adding that “we’re doing cutting-edge research, as we’re also carrying forth the message of how the heavens proclaim the glory of God.”In his book, Consolmagno disputes the idea that we can’t study science and also be people of faith.“If we believe that God created this universe, and if we believe that God so loved it that he sent his Son to become a part of it, then science becomes an act of growing closer to the Creator. In that way, it becomes an act of prayer,” he said. Consolmagno’s book explores how deeply involved the Jesuits are in astronomy and the history of that involvement. “There are about 60 craters on the moon or asteroids named for Jesuit scientists,” he told Sabol. “The Jesuits have been involved in our understanding the universe. It’s part of our Jesuit charism to find God in all things. What’s more ‘all things’ than the universe?” “We do science because we’re curious about the universe and who we are, and our place in the universe. And when I say ‘we,’ I mean anyone who is a human being.”He added: “If you think of the seven days of creation, what’s the goal of the seventh day? The day when we spend the time to contemplate the things that God has created. Being an astronomer, talking about the stars — that’s part of our mission as human beings in love with God.” Journey to the Vatican ObservatoryIn a subsequent interview with CNA, Consolmagno said he started off his mission as an astronomer as an ordinary kid from Detroit. He said he grew in his love for science at an early age, describing his young self as a “Sputnik kid.” He finished high school when people landed on the moon. It was a time he felt anything was possible. Consolmagno’s original plan was to be a journalist, but he joked that he didn’t like the idea of having to call up strangers for a story. So he pivoted and went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study planetary science. He said he chose his field of study because “planets are places people have adventures.”Consolmagno told CNA that he had contemplated becoming a Jesuit priest when he was in high school but felt God was saying no. It wasn’t until decades later that God pulled him to the Society of Jesus. He was working at Lafayette College as an assistant professor of physics when he said, “I do not have a vocation to be a priest but rather a vocation to be a brother.”When asked if he understood why he was meant to be a brother and not a priest, he said: “It was that simple. I didn’t understand it then, and it has taken me 30 years to appreciate the difference.”“Jesuit priests are called to be available, and my skills are deep, but limited. Unlike most Jesuits, I have had the same job for 30 years.” He further explained the Catholic Church’s history in science goes back to before Galileo. Many Jesuits served as astronomers at the Roman College from the 17th to the 19th centuries. They worked alongside Galileo before his condemnation. Some of these Jesuit astronomers actually disagreed with him on certain scientific matters, which led Galileo to blame “Jesuit hostility” as a cause for his infamous downfall, according to the Vatican Observatory. Consolmagno said that “while some believe that all science stopped when Galileo was condemned, that’s not true.” Priests and brothers were involved then and still are now, he said, “because of our spirituality to find God in the universe.” Consolmagno referenced Paul’s letter to the Romans while explaining to CNA the connection between faith and the universe, which says: “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Rom 1:20).Jesuits have played a large role in developments in astronomy, Consolmagno said. Even St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus, believed “the greatest consolation that he received was from gazing at the sky and stars, and this he often did and for q
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As director of the Vatican Observatory, Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno is known informally as “the pope’s astronomer.” / Credit: “EWTN News Nightly” screenshot
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 7, 2025 / 17:00 pm (CNA).
Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ, has spent the last 30 years staring at the sky. As the director of the Vatican Observatory, known informally as “the pope’s astronomer,” he has just published his 13th book — “A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars: Exploring Wonder, Beauty, and Science,” which he said he wrote at the suggestion of Loyola Press.
“I pulled together a lot of ideas, some of my own experience and some of the history of the Jesuits working on science,” he told “EWTN News Nightly” on Feb. 5.
Consolmagno has been the director of the Vatican Observatory since 2015. He told “EWTN News Nightly” anchor Tracy Sabol that the observatory was officially established in 1891 to “show the world that the Church supports science. And we have been doing that ever since,” he said, adding that “we’re doing cutting-edge research, as we’re also carrying forth the message of how the heavens proclaim the glory of God.”
In his book, Consolmagno disputes the idea that we can’t study science and also be people of faith.
“If we believe that God created this universe, and if we believe that God so loved it that he sent his Son to become a part of it, then science becomes an act of growing closer to the Creator. In that way, it becomes an act of prayer,” he said.
Consolmagno’s book explores how deeply involved the Jesuits are in astronomy and the history of that involvement.
“There are about 60 craters on the moon or asteroids named for Jesuit scientists,” he told Sabol. “The Jesuits have been involved in our understanding the universe. It’s part of our Jesuit charism to find God in all things. What’s more ‘all things’ than the universe?”
“We do science because we’re curious about the universe and who we are, and our place in the universe. And when I say ‘we,’ I mean anyone who is a human being.”
He added: “If you think of the seven days of creation, what’s the goal of the seventh day? The day when we spend the time to contemplate the things that God has created. Being an astronomer, talking about the stars — that’s part of our mission as human beings in love with God.”
Journey to the Vatican Observatory
In a subsequent interview with CNA, Consolmagno said he started off his mission as an astronomer as an ordinary kid from Detroit. He said he grew in his love for science at an early age, describing his young self as a “Sputnik kid.” He finished high school when people landed on the moon. It was a time he felt anything was possible.
Consolmagno’s original plan was to be a journalist, but he joked that he didn’t like the idea of having to call up strangers for a story. So he pivoted and went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study planetary science. He said he chose his field of study because “planets are places people have adventures.”
Consolmagno told CNA that he had contemplated becoming a Jesuit priest when he was in high school but felt God was saying no. It wasn’t until decades later that God pulled him to the Society of Jesus. He was working at Lafayette College as an assistant professor of physics when he said, “I do not have a vocation to be a priest but rather a vocation to be a brother.”
When asked if he understood why he was meant to be a brother and not a priest, he said: “It was that simple. I didn’t understand it then, and it has taken me 30 years to appreciate the difference.”
“Jesuit priests are called to be available, and my skills are deep, but limited. Unlike most Jesuits, I have had the same job for 30 years.”
He further explained the Catholic Church’s history in science goes back to before Galileo.
Many Jesuits served as astronomers at the Roman College from the 17th to the 19th centuries. They worked alongside Galileo before his condemnation. Some of these Jesuit astronomers actually disagreed with him on certain scientific matters, which led Galileo to blame “Jesuit hostility” as a cause for his infamous downfall, according to the Vatican Observatory.
Consolmagno said that “while some believe that all science stopped when Galileo was condemned, that’s not true.” Priests and brothers were involved then and still are now, he said, “because of our spirituality to find God in the universe.”
Consolmagno referenced Paul’s letter to the Romans while explaining to CNA the connection between faith and the universe, which says: “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse” (Rom 1:20).
Jesuits have played a large role in developments in astronomy, Consolmagno said. Even St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus, believed “the greatest consolation that he received was from gazing at the sky and stars, and this he often did and for quite a long time.”
While the work of Jesuits in astronomy has greatly expanded scientific knowledge, Consolmagno told EWTN during a visit to the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, that science can’t explain God. “The deep thing is, you’re not going to prove God with science. God is bigger than science. God proves that science works, not the other way around.”
Consolmagno believes that studying science and furthering one’s understanding of God’s universe is actually a way to strengthen our relationship with him.
“My scientific work has made me recognize the joy that comes from being close to God. My scientific work has made me recognize the necessity of Church. I can’t just find God on my own,” he said.
Consolmagno’s book looks deeper into the Jesuit’s past in astronomy and closely at the connection of faith and science.
“I hope this book will bring a smile to people who look through it, even if they don’t get past the pretty pictures, because joy is where we find God and you find joy in the stars,” Consolmagno told CNA.
Watch the full “EWTN News Nightly” interview with Consolmagno below.
