Buffalo, NY - In celebration of the 550th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus, the “Father of Modern Astronomy,” the Permanent Chair of Polish Culture at Canisius University hosted a lecture by Br. Guy J. Consolmagno, SJ, on Monday, October 23, 2023.
An American research astronomer, physicist and religious brother, Br. Consolmagno serves as director of the Vatican Observatory and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. His lecture, titled "Copernicus and Questions of Faith and Science," will be followed by a question-and-answer session, and a book signing.
Br. Consolmagno, known as “the Pope’s Astronomer,” has a PhD in planetary science from the University of Arizona and is chair of the Mars Nomenclature Task Group at the International Astronomical Union.
He holds an honorary degree from Georgetown University and is a recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal for outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public. Br. Consolmagno is the author or co-author of several books including Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?, Turn Left at Orion and Finding God in the Universe. He edited The Heavens Proclaim, a Vatican Observatory Publication, writes a monthly column on astronomy for The Tablet, a British Catholic periodical, and has an extensive list of Peer-Reviewed Publications.
The Vatican Observatory was established by the Holy See for astronomical research and public outreach to advance the scientific understanding of our universe and is one of the oldest active astronomical observatories in the world, with its roots going back to 1582 and the Gregorian reform of the calendar. The Jesuit astronomers of the Vatican Observatory have contributed to discoveries in many fields from the origins of our solar system to the structure of galaxies. Along with the Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, the Vatican Observatory Research Group maintains one of the most important centers in the world for observational astronomy in Tucson, Arizona.
