The Vatican's Astronomical Observatory is organizing a high-level meeting on the legacy of Belgian astronomer and priest, Father Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), the father of the Big Bang theory. His achievements earned the respect of Einstein himself.
The event, which will bring together some 40 astronomers and cosmologists from around the world at Castel Gandolfo from June 16 to 21, was presented at the Holy See on June 11, 2024.
For one week, the Vatican's famous “Specola” — the astronomical observatory — located in the hills of the Castelli Romani region, on the shores of Lake Albano, will host discussions on the theme of “Black Holes, Gravitational Waves and Space-Time Singularities.”
The aim is to “share the latest ideas in cosmology” and “generate new perspectives,” explained the organizers.
Distinguished participants
Some 40 scientists — including two Nobel Prize winners — will be coming from the USA, Georgia, Iran, Japan, and Colombia. Among this “dream team of thinkers” — as hailed by Italian theorist Fabio Scardigli — will be British mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and Nobel Prize winner Roger Penrose, British-American astrophysicist Joseph Silk, and Canadian black-hole physicist Éric Poisson. Some 150 experts will follow the proceedings online.
Lemaître’s work
Georges Lemaître has left his mark on the history of both science and the Church, said Jesuit Gabriele Gionti, cosmologist and vice-director of the Observatory. In theology, the Belgian scientist formulated the “two paths” theory — which reconciles faith and science while respecting their autonomy. In the scientific sphere, he was instrumental in the discovery of the law of galaxy recession - known as the Hubble-Lemaître law.
According to this law, galaxies move away from each other at a speed proportional to their distance, in a constantly expanding universe. This theory did not please Albert Einstein. He “preferred the universe to be stationary, unchanging,” explains physicist Massimo Bianchi. Einstein also disagreed with Fr. Lemaître about the Big Bang, because “he didn't like the idea that time could have had a beginning, that there could have been a creation.”
Despite this, the famous relativity theorist remained “very troubled by Lemaître's very convincing arguments” at their first meeting in 1927. For Fr. Gionti, Lemaître even “sort of corrected Einstein.” Over the years, despite their scientific antagonisms, they maintained a friendship and mutual esteem.
The Big Bang and Genesis
Speaking to the press, Br. Guy Consolmagno, director of the Vatican Astronomical Observatory, made it clear that “the Big Bang and the moment of creation described in Genesis” should not be confused.
“Lemaître was very adamant that these were not the same thing,” insisted the planetologist. “The Big Bang is our best understanding to date of what happened after the universe was created. Perhaps, in a hundred or a thousand years' time, we'll come up with a better theory. Genesis, on the other hand, describes the creation of the laws of physics itself — laws we're still trying to discover.”
Georges Lemaître, who had close links with the Specola, was keen to support this position with Pius XII himself, as Fr. Gabriele Gionti recounts. In November 1951, the Pontiff delivered a speech at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that “seemed to imply that the Big Bang confirmed Genesis.”
The astronomer then asked to speak to the head of the Catholic Church, convinced that theology and science were “two different domains, [...] two parallel planes that did not intersect,” commented Father Gionti.
The Vatican Observatory, neutral ground
The scientific community has responded with interest to the Specola's initiative, which maintains good relations with the highest entities in the world of astronomy. This collaboration is possible in part “because we're not competing for positions or money, [...] we don't have an agenda,” said Fr. Consolmagno.
According to Fr. Gabriele Gionti, the Vatican Observatory represents “a neutral place where academics [...] feel free to speak without being conditioned by the currents of thought that circulate in academic structures.”
“At the Specola there's a bit more freedom,” he said.
The fact that the members of the Observatory are religious — Jesuits — is also well received, said Br. Consolmagno, a former member of the Board of Directors of the International Astronomical Union. He noted that the scientific world is “very open to the need to [...] answer the fundamental question: Why is there something rather than nothing?”
Participants in the conference are also expected to be received by Pope Francis. As was the case at a first international conference in 2017, the proceedings of this event may be published in a scientific journal.
