Pope Leo XIV spent Sunday honoring a giant leap for mankind — and it came with a side of stargazing and a phone call to one of the original moonwalkers.
To mark the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the pope took a trip to the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence just outside Rome. After leading the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer, he toured the observatory’s telescope domes, where Vatican astronomers — many of them Jesuit priests — have been blending science and spirituality for over a century.
This was Pope Leo’s first official visit to the observatory, founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII. But its roots go deeper — all the way back to the late 1500s, when Pope Gregory XIII kickstarted modern calendar reform based on careful astronomical study.
The observatory isn’t just a spiritual symbol; it’s a working research center. It houses one of the best meteorite collections in the world, including fragments from Mars, and it regularly hosts international students and scientists for its summer school programs.
Later that day, the pope phoned Buzz Aldrin — the second man to walk on the moon — to mark the occasion personally. While details of the conversation haven’t been shared, Vatican sources say the two discussed space exploration, the fragility of Earth, and the awe that comes from looking up.
With input from the AP News
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