"Anybody who's looked at the stars, it's got to be spiritual. Now, I don't want to say I find God in the stars. It's the other way around. ... You know, the reason that they fund us ... is to show the world that the church embraces science. We have faith in our faith. We're not afraid of science. ... It was Pope John Paul II who said, "Truth does not contradict truth." So if we find truth in our science, ultimately it's going to bring us closer to God." For the past 13 years, Kenya RPCV Guy Consolmagno has held one of the most secure and prestigious posts in the planetary sciences, as one of the Pope's 12 personal astronomers, dividing his time between the Vatican's observatory at the papal summer palace at Castel Gandolfo in Italy and a giant telescope in Tucson, Arizona.
Brother Guy Consolmagno is a Vatican astronomer
An astronomer at the Vatican
BY JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Guy Consolmagno has covered a lot of ground since he was a kid enrolled at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs elementary in Beverly Hills.
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From there, to University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy.
Then to the East Coast, and on to the Southwest, piling up advanced educational degrees.
Then to Rome.
And into the Vatican, where the pope lives.
Finally, space.
As Brother Guy since 1989, Consolmagno, 57, has achieved rare air: Vatican astronomer.
He splits his time between the Catholic Church's observatory in Arizona and the Vatican's facility in Rome, studying the stars. He also gives educational talks, like the one he is to present Monday night at the Detroit Science Center. And if it's news to you that the Vatican has an astronomer, consider this: There are 12.
QUESTION: Why does the Vatican need an astronomer?
ANSWER: Why does anyone need an astronomer? (Laughs) ... Astronomy's one of those things that makes you realize that you're more than just a well-fed cat, that you're a human being with curiosity, with interests. You want to know where you came from, you want to know what those lights in the sky are, you want to know how it all fits together. That's what it means to be human.
Q: Is there something spiritual in it for you?
A: Anybody who's looked at the stars, it's got to be spiritual. Now, I don't want to say I find God in the stars. It's the other way around. ... You know, the reason that they fund us ... is to show the world that the church embraces science. We have faith in our faith. We're not afraid of science. ... It was Pope John Paul II who said, "Truth does not contradict truth." So if we find truth in our science, ultimately it's going to bring us closer to God.
Q: Can you take a minute and describe what you do when you're at the Vatican?
A: I take care of the meteorite collection. A wealthy nobleman from France, a marquis, donated his personal collection of meteorites a hundred years ago ... one of the best in the world. And my particular science is to understand the physical properties of these rocks, how they were put together, how dense and porous they are now, their thermal properties, their magnetic properties.
Q: Any evidence of Heaven in the heavens?
A: In a funny way, yes. It's not enough that the universe makes sense, and that we can study it -- that there are laws to be found. ... But the fact is, the skies are beautiful. And even the laws of physics that describe the skies are beautiful. And to me that is the beauty of the creator coming through.
Q: Is the pope an astronomy buff?
A: He actually came and visited, and I let him hold a piece of our meteorite from Mars and showed him a piece of a meteorite that fell in the town near where he grew up in southern Germany. And he got a kick out of it.
Q: Any signs of life out there in space?
A: We have all the ingredients for life out there. ... But we haven't seen it yet. But as a science-fiction fan, I have high hopes we will find life out there someday.
For information on the educational talk Monday night, call the Detroit Science Center at 313-577-8400. Contact JIM SCHAEFER: 313-223-4542 or jschaefer@freepress.com
