Indian Catholic priest Richard D’Souza has been appointed as the brand new director of the Vatican Observatory. The newly elected Pope Leo XIV confirmed his appointment on Thursday night.
D’Souza, 47, a Jesuit priest who hails from Goa and who holds a doctorate in Astronomy will succeed the prevailing head of one of many world’s oldest astronomical observatories, will succeed incumbent Man Consolmagno, when his time period ends on September 15.
“I’m very honoured to be appointed by Pope Leo XIV as the subsequent Director of the Vatican Observatory,” D’Souza stated in a remark to HT.
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“On one hand, I’m conscious of the numerous high-profile Jesuits who’ve held this place previously and have paved the way in which for the Observatory’s success as we speak: I’m really standing on the shoulders of giants. However, I perceive the nice accountability entrusted to me of guiding the Vatican Observatory at this essential time, in order that the Specola continues to serve the Pope and the Common Church, selling the dialogue between religion and science, by strong scientific analysis,” he stated.
D’Souza who hails from Mapusa in Goa a Bachelor’s diploma in Physics at St Xavier’s School Mumbai, a Grasp in Physics on the College of Heidelberg, Germany the place he labored on the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg for his thesis work; a doctorate in astronomy with analysis achieved on the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Garching, Munich, concentrating on the formation and evolution of galaxies and a post-doctoral programme on the College of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US.
He’s a member of the Worldwide Astronomical Union and has not too long ago had an asteroid named after him.
“I’m delighted that His Holiness has chosen Fr. D’Souza to be the subsequent director of the Vatican Observatory. I do know that Fr. D’Souza has the imaginative and prescient and knowledge to hold the Observatory ahead throughout this time of speedy change in astronomical analysis, particularly given his expertise with area telescopes and superior computational strategies,” incumbent Consolmagno stated.
Again in Goa Richard’s dad and mom Mary and Joseph expressed their “happiness and gratitude” on the alternative he has been entrusted with to serve in his mission.
“As a toddler he was all the time curious and confirmed curiosity within the scientific aspect of issues and we’re blissful and grateful that he has been entrusted with this accountability that enables him to serve each his mission and the pursuit of science,” the household said.
The Vatican Observatory is likely one of the oldest astronomical observatories on this planet. It was based in 1891, by Pope Leo XIII.
D’Souza has been a employees member of the Vatican Observatory since 2016 and has held the position of the Superior of the Jesuit neighborhood of the Vatican Observatory since 2022.
In 2018, he together with researchers working on the Vatican Observatory discovered conclusive proof of an extended misplaced galaxy the third largest after Andromeda and the Milky Manner, named 32p that was “shredded and cannibalised” by the Milky Manner’s galactic neighbour Andromeda about two billion years in the past.
This disrupted galaxy was the third-largest member of the native group of galaxies, after the Milky Manner and Andromeda galaxies. Utilizing laptop fashions, D’Souza and Bell have been capable of piece collectively this proof, revealing this long-lost sibling. Their findings have been revealed in Nature Astronomy in July 2018.
His analysis focuses on the phenomenon of galaxy merging and its results on the current day properties of galaxies just like the Milky Manner. He has revealed in quite a few worldwide scientific journals and is a member of a number of worldwide collaborations.
