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The Vatican Observatory released on April 29 that an asteroid has been named in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who formally reestablished the observatory in 1891.
The four asteroids discovered by Cernis and Father Boyle are officially listed as in the following way:
— “(858334) Gioacchinopecci,” which remembers Pope Leo XIII’s baptized name, Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci.
— “(836955) Lais” for Father Lais, who was involved in the early 20th-century “Carte du Ciel” (“Map of the Heavens”) photographic star atlas project.
— “(836275) Pietromaffi” in honor of Cardinal Maffi, who recommended the Vatican Observatory be entrusted to the Society of Jesus, under whose care it remains to this day, with its current director Jesuit Father Richard D’Souza appointed by Pope Leo XIV in July 2025.
— “(688696) Bertiau,” which recognizes Father Bertiau’s work in pioneering computerized data analysis, and conducting research on star distribution in the Milky Way galaxy and on light pollution.
Also known as “minor planets,” asteroids are rocky remains from the formation of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago, NASA explains on its website.
From 33 feet to nearly 330 miles in diameter, most asteroids orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter, in a formation called the asteroid belt. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the number of asteroids are over 1.5 million.
Pope Leo XIII asteroid
The Pope Leo XIII asteroid is one of four discovered by Lithuanian astronomer Kazimieras Cernis and Jesuit Father Richard P. Boyle, a Vatican Observatory astronomer. The two first observed the bodies using the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, or VATT, on Mount Graham, Arizona, constructed in partnership with the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory.Who was Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII lived during the Industrial Revolution, and was a champion of worker’s rights; he addressed the social upheavals caused by industrialization and urbanization. In 1891, he issued the landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum (“On the Condition of Labor”), which defended the rights of workers to form unions, demanded fair wages, and critiqued both unbridled capitalism and socialism.
Also in 1891, Pope Leo XIII founded the modern Vatican Observatory with his motu proprio Ut Mysticam, the key line of which (translated) is “to show the world that the Church is not opposed to good and solid science, but rather supports it to the fullest measure.”
IAU Citation
(858334) Gioacchinopecci = 2012 VT87
Discovery: 2012-11-14 / K. Černis, R. P. Boyle / Mount Graham / 290
Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci (Pope Leo XIII, 1810–1903) had a great interest in the sciences and was responsible for the re-establishment and reform of the Vatican Observatory in 1891 within the walls of the Vatican. He also encouraged the Observatory to get involved in the Carte du Ciel project.
Source: https://www.wgsbn-iau.org/files/Bulletins/V006/WGSBNBull_V006_006.pdf
https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/pope-leo-xiii-gets-an-asteroid-named-after-him/
Also in 1891, Pope Leo XIII founded the modern Vatican Observatory with his motu proprio Ut Mysticam, the key line of which (translated) is “to show the world that the Church is not opposed to good and solid science, but rather supports it to the fullest measure.”
IAU Citation
(858334) Gioacchinopecci = 2012 VT87
Discovery: 2012-11-14 / K. Černis, R. P. Boyle / Mount Graham / 290
Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci (Pope Leo XIII, 1810–1903) had a great interest in the sciences and was responsible for the re-establishment and reform of the Vatican Observatory in 1891 within the walls of the Vatican. He also encouraged the Observatory to get involved in the Carte du Ciel project.
Source: https://www.wgsbn-iau.org/files/Bulletins/V006/WGSBNBull_V006_006.pdf
https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/sacred-space-astronomy/pope-leo-xiii-gets-an-asteroid-named-after-him/
Image - By Braun et Compagnie - Observador.pt: Info PicGetty Images: Info 1 Info 2, Public Domain
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