The exhibition “El Greco allo specchio: Due dipinti a confronto" El Greco in Reflection: Two Paintings Compared and the display of the renowned tapestry The Conversion of Saint Paul  at the Apostolic Palace museum of Castel Gandolfo have come to a close. The initiative was a collaboration between the Directorate of the Pontifical Villas and the Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage.

Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo on Tuesday afternoon, May 19.

Upon his arrival, the Pope was welcomed by Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Archbishop Emilio Nappa, and Attorney Giuseppe Puglisi, respectively President and Secretaries General of the Governorate of Vatican City State; by the Director of the Vatican Observatory, Jesuit Fr. Richard Anthony D’Souza; by the Deputy Director, Fr. Gabriele Gionti; and by the President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, Br. Guy Consolmagno.

The Vatican Observatory is pleased to report that four asteroids have been named for important figures in the history of the Observatory, including Pope Leo XIII, who re-founded the Observatory in 1891.

The Vatican Observatory is making its main telescope available to students at Jesuit universities

Recently, the Observatory successfully completed the robotization and automation of its Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT), located on Mt. Graham in Arizona (USA). This was accomplished thanks to the generosity of the Thomas Lord Charitable Trust. It means, among other things, that astronomers can use the telescope remotely, without having to be up on the mountain. Vatican Observatory (VO) astronomers are now utilizing its exciting capabilities.