September 29, 2025, marks the 90th anniversary of the inauguration of the new headquarters of the Vatican Observatory at the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo. The Observatory is one of the oldest astronomical institutes in the world: its origins go back to the reform of the calendar from Julian to Gregorian in 1582. It was refounded in the Vatican by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 with the motu proprio Ut Mysticam.

In astronomy, beauty and joy meet: the signs of the presence of God. Knowing what beauty and joy mean allows you to recognize them even in prayer and thus understand what to look for in science. This was stated by the Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, former Director of the Vatican Observatory, from 2015 to September 19^th 2025, in this interview with www.vaticanstate.va.

For the first time, the Band of the Gendarmerie Corps and the Band of the Pontifical Swiss Guard will perform together. The wind and percussion ensemble will take place in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo on Monday, September 29, at 8:00 p.m., on the feast of the Patron Saint of Vatican City State, Saint Michael the Archangel.

On Saturday evening, August 30, a procession of boats lit with hundreds of candles and adorned with countless flowers glided across the waters of Lake Castel Gandolfo (Albano). This evocative scene was part of the traditional nighttime procession on the lake in honor of the Virgin Mary, which since 1954 has drawn many faithful.