Skip to content

Pope Leo XIV appoints new director of the Vatican Observatory

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday appointed astronomer Father Richard Anthony D’Souza, SJ, as the new director of the Vatican Observatory.

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday appointed astronomer Father Richard Anthony D’Souza, SJ, as the new director of the Vatican Observatory.

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER HERE

D’Souza, who has worked at the Vatican’s astronomical research and educational institution since 2016, will start his new position on Sept. 19, according to the Holy See Press Office statement.

The Indian priest succeeds Brother Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ, whose 10-year mandate ends next month, as head of the observatory. Consolmagno will remain at the scientific institution as a staff astronomer.

Born in Goa in 1978, D’Souza joined the Society of Jesus in 1996 and was ordained a priest in 2011 after completing studies at the Jnana Deepa Institute of Philosophy and Theology in India.

He obtained a bachelor’s degree in physics from St. Xavier’s College, University of Mumbai, India, in 2002 and was awarded a master’s degree in physics by the University of Heidelberg, Germany, in 2005.

In 2016, he completed his doctorate in astronomy at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, before moving to Italy to work with the Vatican Observatory in the same year. 

According to the Vatican Observatory website, D’Souza, whose area of specialized research is the formation and evolution of galaxies, is also the superior of the Jesuit community attached to the observatory in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. 

In 1891, Leo XIII issued the motu proprio Ut Mysticam (“As Mystical”) authorizing the construction of a new modernized observatory in Castel Gandolfo, approximately 15 miles southeast of Rome. 

The Church’s first observatory was founded in 1579 by Pope Gregory XIII, who entrusted the institution to the Society of Jesus.

This article was originally published by CNA.

Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today

Share

Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican

Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter.

More news related to this article

More Than 500,000 People Pass Through St. Peter’s Holy Door After Christmas Opening

More than half a million people have passed through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, two weeks after its Christmas Eve opening.

Promoting Peace and Integration: A Conversation with Colombia’s Ambassador to the Holy See

In this interview, His Excellency, Mr. Alberto Ospina Carreño, the Ambassador of Colombia to the Holy See, discusses

Pope Francis’ 2024 Lenten message: ‘Lent is a season of conversion, a time of freedom’

Pope Francis has centered his Lenten message for 2024 on the Book of Exodus, choosing “Through the Desert God Leads Us to Freedom” as its main theme to encourage the faithful that the season is a journey from bondage to spiritual renewal and freedom.

Jubilee 2025 Announcement

Pope Francis proclaims the Jubilee 2025, urging believers to be builders of hope in a world plagued by despair. The Holy Year begins with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve 2024.

14 Things We Learned About Pope Leo From His Brother’s Latest Interview

John Prevost talked about his daily communications with his brother in a recent interview with a Chicago news station.

Pope Francis: U.S. presidential election a choice between ‘the lesser evil’

Pope Francis said that American voters face the choice between “the lesser evil” in the U.S. presidential election during an in-flight press conference Friday on his return from his nearly two-week tour of Southeast Asia.

LIVE
FROM THE VATICAN

Be present live on EWTN.it