'The pope's astronomer' coming to Amityville to lead a tour of the heavens

The Roman Catholic Church has come a long way since the days when it put Galileo on trial for espousing the idea that the Earth revolves around the sun.

Today, rather than shunning science, it is embracing it, according to local religious leaders involved in the environmental and other movements. This week, two groups of nuns are bringing to Long Island a Jesuit brother who used to head the Vatican Observatory and is known as “the pope’s astronomer.”

Brother Guy Consolmagno will appear at the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Amityville on Friday and Saturday to talk about the relationship between the heavens and religion — and, not surprisingly, to help attendees look at outer space through some telescopes.

If the weather cooperates Friday night, they may even be able to see the rings of Saturn, said Sister Margaret Galiardi, one of the event organizers.

Consolmagno is so well known in the field of planetary astronomy that he has an asteroid named after him — Asteroid 4597 Consolmagno, located between Mars and Jupiter.

He was appointed director of the Vatican Observatory by a fellow Jesuit, Pope Francis, in 2015 and led it for a decade.

The observatory is located at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome. It is “one of the oldest active astronomical observatories in the world, with its roots going back to 1582,” according to the Vatican website.

Part of its mission is “to promote education and public engagement in astronomy, and constructive dialogue in the area of faith and science.”

Consolmagno said his more than three decades of work in planetary astronomy have been designed partly to encourage that dialogue.

“My job is more than just doing science … wonderful as that is,” he said in an email. “I also want to encourage people, especially people of faith, to embrace science and what it can tell us about creation and its creator.”

“God has created this wonderful universe; it would be a shame if nobody paid attention to it!” he said.

The gathering in Amityville also is aimed at reminding people of the awesomeness of the universe amid difficult events, including wars, earthquakes and other problems, Galiardi said.

“This is an opportunity for everyone to take a deep breath to be exposed to wonder and beauty in the universe,” Galiardi said. “It reminds us in light of everything that's happening that God is still present and active in the universe and will continue to guide us.”

The Dominican Sisters of Amityville, along with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood, the two largest orders of religious sisters on Long Island, are co-hosting the event.

They are holding it now because Sept. 1 through Oct. 4 is the ecumenical Season of Creation, when Christian churches join to pray for the integrity of creation and to increase awareness of caring for the Earth, Galiardi said.

Sister Joan Gallagher of the Sisters of St. Joseph said she is thrilled Consolmagno is coming.

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “Faith and science — they’re not at odds with each other. Both of them together bring us closer to the truth.”

A Detroit native, Consolmagno is the author of “A Jesuit's Guide to the Stars: Exploring Wonder, Beauty, and Science.” He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in planetary science at the University of Arizona. He entered the Jesuits when he was 37.

He has taught at Harvard, MIT, Lafayette College and Fordham University, among other institutions. He is currently teaching at Le Moyne College in Syracuse.

In 1996, he spent six weeks collecting meteorites on the blue ice of Antarctica with a National Science Foundation-sponsored team.

Consolmagno is not the only Jesuit to make a mark in the world of science. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, for instance, was a famous French paleontologist.

In contrast to the times of Galileo, the connection between science, faith and religion is a growing area of study, including within the new field of evolutionary theology, Galiardi said.

Evolution and science can be “dialogue partners” with theology, she said, “and when they are, both science and religion prosper and grow.”

Friday night’s event at 555 Albany Ave. in Amityville will include a prayer service and a reflection by Consolmagno, followed by telescope viewings. On Saturday morning he will deliver an address, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Required registration is at WMFT.org.