Vatican Observatory has asteroid named after Pope Leo XIII

Vatican News

The Vatican Observatory announced that four asteroids have been named after important figures in its history—including Pope Leo XIII, who re-founded the organization in 1891—in a press release published on Wednesday, April 29.

All four asteroids were discovered by Lithuanian astronomer Kazimieras Černis and Vatican Observatory astronomer Father Richard P. Boyle, using the Observatory’s Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), located on Mount Graham in Arizona, United States.

The asteroids are “(858334) Gioacchinopecci”, “(836955) Lais”, “(836275) Pietromaffi”, and “(688696) Bertiau”, and the names were recently announced in Volume 6, issue 4, of the International Astronomical Union’s WGSBN Bulletin, the statement explains.

Development of the Observatory and Pope Leo XIII

The “(858334) Gioacchinopecci” honors Pope Leo XIII, baptized Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci, who was Pope from 1878 until his death in 1903.

The press release underlines how Pope Leo XIII was instrumental to the development of the Vatican Observatory, as he re-established it following the loss of papal territories and the highly productive astronomical facilities that had been located within them.

This included the observatory of Father Angelo Secchi, which was located atop the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome. Photographs of the Vatican in the early 20th century also show the domes of observatory telescopes atop the walls of the Vatican and the “Tower of the Winds”.

In the 1930s, because of electric lighting brightening the night skies over Rome, the telescopes were moved to the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo, around an hour south of Rome. Their domes are still there, visible for kilometers in all directions.

Further brightening of the Roman skies led to the construction of the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope on Mount Graham in Arizona in the 1990s.

The Observatory’s mission

The statement notes that in his 1891 Motu Proprio “Ut Mysticam” establishing the Vatican Observatory, Pope Leo XIII highlighted how this entity would help to show the world that the Church’s current and historic attitude toward “true and solid science” was to “embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the fullest possible dedication,” contrary to what detractors had been stating. 

He underlined that the Observatory would be “helping to promote a very noble science which, more than any other human discipline, raises the spirit of mortals to the contemplation of heavenly events.”

The press release emphasizes that the Observatory has done just that, as reflected in the visible domes atop the Vatican walls and Castel Gandolfo or the Observatory’s research output that has contributed to helping the scientific community.

Other asteroids named after Popes

This is not the first case of an asteroid being named after a Pope. “(560974) Ugoboncompagni” honors Pope Gregory XIII for his work on reforming the calendar and was also discovered with the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope.

In 2000, German astronomer Lutz Schmadel named “(8661) Ratzinger”, after Pope Benedict XVI, who at the time was a Cardinal and had not yet been elected Pope. It was named after him in honor of his work to open the Vatican archives in 1998, in order to allow researchers to investigate judicial errors against Galileo.

Other asteroids named after important Church figures

The press release also announces that three other asteroids were named after important figures in the history of the Vatican Observatory.

“(836955) Lais” is named after Father Giuseppe Lais (1845–1921), a member of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri and Italian astronomer who served as Deputy Director of the Observatory for thirty years.

In the early 20th century, he was involved in the international “Carte du Ciel” (“Map of the Heavens”) photographic star atlas project.

“(836275) Pietromaffi” honors Cardinal Pietro Maffi (1858–1931), Archbishop of Pisa, who served as President of the Observatory from 1904 till his death in 1931.

He recommended that the Observatory be entrusted to the Society of Jesus to ensure high research standards, and they still run this entity today.

“(688696) Bertiau” is named after Father Florent Constant Bertiau (1919–1995), a Belgian Jesuit astronomer.

He founded the Observatory’s Computer Center in 1965, pioneered computerized data analysis, and led vital research on the distribution of stars in our Milky Way galaxy and on “light pollution.”

The press release emphasizes that the discovery of these four asteroids and their naming by members of the Vatican Observatory continues Pope Leo XIII’s intention to support science and to show the world and the Church that faith and science go together.

How does an asteroid get named?

The statement also explains that an asteroid gets named. Asteroids are assigned provisional designations at the time of discovery, based on the date of their observation. When an asteroid’s orbit has been determined with sufficient precision and its future trajectory can be reliably predicted, it is assigned a permanent number.

Currently, approximately 850,000 of the roughly 1.3 million known asteroids have received a permanent number.

Only after receiving this number can the discoverers propose a definitive name to replace the provisional designation.

The proposed name is reviewed by the International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN)—which manages the process—and must comply with specific guidelines.

Once approved, the asteroid is known by its official name, written as “(number) Name”.