杏MAP导航

By Vatican News 

杏MAP导航 Leo XIV has appointed Fr Richard Anthony D鈥橲ouza, S.J., as Director of the Vatican Observatory. A statement released by the Vatican Governorate on Thursday noted that 鈥渨ith this appointment, 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV has confirmed the succession process that had been underway before the death of 杏MAP导航 Francis.鈥�

Fr D鈥橲ouza, who has a doctorate in astronomy and who has been a staff member at the Observatory since 2016, succeeds Br Guy Consolmagno, S.J., whose mandate expires on 19 September 2025.

Commenting on this transition, Br Consolmagno stated, 鈥淚 am delighted that His Holiness has chosen Fr. D鈥橲ouza to be the next director of the Vatican Observatory. I know that Fr. D鈥橲ouza has the vision and wisdom to carry the Observatory forward during this time of rapid change in astronomical research, especially given his experience with space telescopes and advanced computational techniques.鈥�

In turn, Fr D鈥橲ouza noted, 鈥淒uring his ten years of leadership, Br. Consolmagno has distinguished himself for his dedication to dialogue between science and faith, to scientific dissemination, and the promotion of astronomical research at the international level.鈥�

The statement also noted that after finishing his mandate as Director of the Observatory, Br Consolmagno will continue as a staff astronomer at the Vatican Observatory and as the President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, USA.

Fr D鈥橲ouza biography

Fr. Richard D'Souza SJ was born in 1978 in India and hails from the region of Goa, India. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1996 and was ordained a priest in 2011, having studied philosophy and theology at Jnana Deepa, Pune, India.

His academic formation includes a Bachelor鈥檚 degree in Physics;  A Master in Physics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany where he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg for his thesis work; A doctorate in astronomy with research done at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Munich, concentrating on the formation and evolution of galaxies; A post-doctoral programme at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.

Fr. D'Souza has been a staff member of the Vatican Observatory since 2016 and has held the role of the Superior of the Jesuit community of the Vatican Observatory since 2022. His research focuses on the phenomenon of galaxy merging and its effects on the present day properties of galaxies like the Milky Way. He has published in numerous international scientific journals and is a member of several international collaborations. He is a member of the International Astronomical Union and has recently had an asteroid named after him.

The Vatican Observatory

The Vatican Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical observatories in the world. In founding the present Vatican Observatory in 1891, 杏MAP导航 Leo XIII spelled out the mission of the Observatory in his Motu Propio 鈥淯t Mysticam鈥� writing 鈥溾��that everyone might see clearly that the Church and her Pastors are not opposed to true and solid science, whether human or divine, but that they embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the fullest possible dedication.鈥�

"Today," the statement continues, "The Jesuit astronomers at the Vatican Observatory continue to be faithful to this mission 鈥� studying a wide variety of fields from stars, meteorites, galaxies, to the large scale of the Universe of cosmology and back its beginnings of the BigBang 鈥� seeking to understand the complexity of the Universe and life beyond the solar system and offering a crossroads of dialogue between science, theology and the rich tradition of the Church."