The meeting will also honour Georges Lemaître, the priest who first proposed the Big Bang theory.

The event, scheduled for 16-21 June, will feature 40 leading experts in cosmology, relativity and quantum theory. The gathering aims to foster dialogue and find common ground between these often-conflicting scientific fields.

"We think we have put together a dream team that we vehemently hope will lead to some innovative thinking" said Fabio Scardigli, a theoretical physicist from the Polytechnic Institute of Milan and one of the event's organisers.

Established in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vatican Observatory, known as Specola Vaticana, seeks to promote dialogue between faith and science.

The conference is part of this ongoing mission.

Key participants include:

• Nobel laureates Adam Riess and Roger Penrose
• Andrei Linde and Joseph Silk, pioneers in cosmology
• Wendy Freedman, known for her research on the universe's expansion
• Licia Verde, an expert in dark matter and energy
• Cumrun Vafa, renowned for his studies in geometry and quantum physics
• Edward Witten, a leading figure in string theory

Openness to reflect

On 19 June, participants will meet with Pope Francis who is expected to deliver a speech.

Brother Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory, highlighted the Church's historical contributions to physics.

"I was a scientist for 20 years before I joined the Jesuits, and the most common reaction from fellow scientists was a freedom from them to tell me about the churches they belong to" he said.

Consolmagno also noted that there is an openness to reflect on existential questions in fields like cosmology.

The observatory in Castel Gandolfo offers a neutral ground for scientists to engage in unencumbered dialogue.

"It's a place where scientists, researchers and academics can feel free to speak unencumbered by academic structures where they are bound to one type of theoretical current or another" said Rev. Gabriele Gionti, the observatory's vice- director.

Hubble-Lemaître Law

In 2022, Gionti and Rev Matteo Galaverni, a priest from Reggio Emilia-Guastalla, proposed a new way to study gravity after the Big Bang. Their work was well-received in the scientific community, emphasising the ongoing relevance of the Vatican's scientific contributions.

Georges Lemaître, born in Belgium in 1894, was a significant figure in physics and theology. His early work on the expanding universe laid the groundwork for what would later be known as quantum gravity.

Despite initial opposition from Albert Einstein, Lemaître's theories have gained recognition, with the International Astronomical Union renaming the Hubble Law to the Hubble-Lemaître Law in 2018.

Quoting St John Paul II, Consolmagno stated "Truth is the goal, and for those of us who believe that God is the truth, exploring the truth leads us closer to God".

The conference seeks to build on Lemaître's legacy, bridging gaps between diverse scientific theories in pursuit of a deeper understanding of the universe.

Sources

Religion News Service

Pope Francis has opened his private apartments at Castel Gandolfo to tourists. The Castel is about 25 kilometres from Rome.

He has only visited Castel Gandolfo a couple of times since his 2013 election. He has never spent the night there.

Nor has he moved into his sumptuous apartment in the Vatican.

Instead, he lives in a hotel inside the city. Read more

The public can now visit the Vatican Museums in Rome and the gardens and a new papal portrait gallery in the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo — thanks to the Saturday service just launched by the Vatican and Italy's railway, Ferrovia dello Stato.

The rail service will feature modern trains and tour packages, which must be booked online in advance through the Vatican Museums and run from 16 euros to 40 euros.

For the inaugural press run, Ferrovia used its century-old, coal-burning locomotive to pull historic passenger cars.

Continue reading

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said Pope Francis invited Benedict to spend some time at Castel Gandolfo and Benedict accepted.

The dates for Benedict's visit have not been set.

But he is scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate from a Polish university there on July 3, in recognition of his concern for sacred music.

Last year, Benedict reportedly asked Francis if he was taking a holiday, and Francis replied that this was not his habit and he would stay at the Vatican.

So Benedict decided to do likewise.

Francis has not spent a night at Castel Gandolfo during his papacy.

He visited Benedict there shortly after being elected in 2013, following Benedict's resignation.

A papal Mass is traditionally celebrated on the feast of the Assumption at Castel Gandolfo, and Francis did this in 2013.

He also recited the Angelus there in July, 2013.

But last year he was in Korea on August 15.

According to reports last month, Francis has been planning to turn the papal summer residence into a museum, which the public can enter for a small fee.

This has reportedly raised eyebrows at the Vatican, where officials fear that if a future pope wants to use the summer residence again, it might be difficult to do so.

Last year, the Vatican has opened up the residence's Bernini-landscaped gardens to the public.

There have been fears that the loss of pilgrims coming to see the pope at least on the Sundays of July and August is likely to have an economic impact on the town about 25 kms south of Rome.

Since the early 17th century, about 50 per cent of popes have used Castel Gandolfo as a summer residence.

Benedict currently lives at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in the Vatican Gardens.

Francis spends "working holidays" at the Vatican, but with a scaled back workload.

Sources

• EWTN
• National Catholic Register
• Eponymous Flower
• Catholic News Service
• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: National Catholic Reporter

The Vatican is planning to open the farm at Castel Gandolfo to the public next year, after finding success with its guided tours of the surrounding gardens, fountains and Roma-era archaeological treasures on the sprawling estate 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Rome.

Francis has decided not to use the hilltop retreat overlooking Lake Albano, preferring to stay put in his suite at the Vatican hotel during vacations. The last time the palazzo was used was when Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI took up residence for a few months after his dramatic resignation in 2013.

Soon, the public will be able to see the free-range hens housed in a majolica-decorated chicken coop, the ostriches, turkeys, rabbits and 80 cows that feed Francis and his staff at the Santa Marta hotel. Continue reading

Members of the Ratzinger "schuelerkreis" or "student circle" had been meeting at Castel Gandolfo in Italy, and then travelled to the Vatican for a Mass on August 24, with Benedict as principal celebrant.

The schuelerkreis involves former doctoral students of Joseph Ratzinger.

The group has grown in recent years, with a "youth branch" made up of academics, who are studying and developing his theological work.

The Mass was celebrated at the Campo Santo Teutonico chapel in the Vatican, and Benedict gave the homily on the gospel of the day, where Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do you say I am?"

Irish theologian Fr Vincent Twomey said the homily was very moving. The former Pope preached without reference to notes.

"What struck us all is that despite being older each year," Benedict XVI "looks much better, fresher. He's very clear in his mind," Fr Twomey noted, observing how the former pontiff stood for nearly an hour and a half during the mass even though a chair was provided for him.

The main point of Benedict's homily, the priest explained, was that "today people are always asking who is Jesus Christ".

"They say he was a great man, a teacher, a revolutionary perhaps. People outside see him in different ways," Fr Twomey noted Benedict as saying.

"And that's not a bad thing; that means that Jesus image has spread throughout society and religions," he went on.

"But, to recognise him as the Son of God is a gift of faith."

Noting how "Our Lord didn't build his Church on a theory or a statement, but on a person, a relationship with Jesus," Fr Twomey stated that Benedict's words were "very moving because the Church where we celebrated was near the place where Peter himself gave his final witness".

"Benedict XVI talked about how the gates of hell would never prevail.

"The Church is always the weak player, always under attack, but the Church always survives because it is not a human, but a divine entity."

"The cross is the way to the Resurrection. The good news is God's love triumphs over evil. Evil will never triumph over good," the priest continued.

Unlike in 2013, neither Vatican Radio nor the Vatican newspaper provided quotes from the homily.

Sources

• DFW Catholic
• Catholic News Service
• Image: Inquirer

In the first year of his pontificate, amid a hectic schedule, Pope Francis did not have a break and did not even spend time at the traditional papal summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo.

Church officials have said that Francis not staying at Castel Gandolfo arose out of his desire to throw off the trappings of papacy and to save money.

"We have been asking him to have holidays this year," Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga told journalists in Washington last week.

"Because last year he didn't and sometimes he's very tired."

"So I think that during August he's going to retire to rest," the cardinal said.

But Cardinal Maradiaga, who heads a council of cardinals advising the Pope, ruled out any notion that the 77-year-old Francis might holiday in his native Argentina.

"Not now, because [Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de] Kirchner wants to use this for her propaganda," the cardinal explained.

According to a Religion News Service story, papal aides say that Francis "eats work" and thrives on a hectic pace, despite having had part of a lung removed in his younger years.

The Pope also wears orthopaedic shoes to help alleviate chronic lower back pain.

But he is conscious of his limitations, papal aides say, and has occasionally cancelled events if he is feeling tired or ill.

The Newsmax website quoted a medical specialist who suggested recent reports of weight gain and fatigue for Francis indicate he may be slipping into a form of chronic heart failure.

But before the Pope's recent trip to the Holy Land, Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi played down any papal health fears.

Earlier this year, Cardinal Maradiaga said he had heard opponents of Pope Francis say they are praying for the Pontiff to die as soon possible.

Sources

• Religion News Service
• Newsmax
• Image: Aleteia

People who want to visit the gardens at the traditional summer residence of popes can buy a ticket to go on a tour.

Modest dress is mandatory, so those wearing shorts, mini-skirts or tank tops will not be allowed in.

Continue reading

"In the chapel, the Pope Emeritus offered the place of honour to Pope Francis, but he said: ‘We are brothers', and wanted them to kneel together in the same place," said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, SJ.

The first face-to-face meeting of the pair since the papal election on March 13 began with an embrace at the Castel Gandolfo heliport.

Each wore a simple white cassock. Benedict XVI wore a white quilted jacket against the cool mountain air. Francis was dressed in the white sash and cape of the Pontiff.

After their prayer in the chapel, the two retired to the papal library where they spoke together for the better part of an hour. They then ate lunch with their secretaries.

Father Lombardi did not share any of the content of their confidential discussions, but a Vatican Insider report says Benedict had left his successor a 300-page report to consider.

The report quoted 98-year-old Archbishop Loris Capovilla, secretary to Pope John XXIII, as saying, "anyway, and I'm not referring to the Vatileaks dossier, Benedict XVI has left on his successor's desk something like three hundred pages written personally to his attention, that's what they tell me in Rome".

Reporter Marco Tosatti said it was likely that Pope Francis would be devoting more attention to Benedict's report than to the dossier on the Vatileaks scandal compiled by three cardinals.

Tosatti suggested that the Vatileaks dossier appeared to be imbalanced in favour of allegations of corruption made by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, formerly secretary-general of Vatican City State and now apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Sources:

Catholic News Agency

Catholic Herald

Vatican Insider

Image: CTV News

In the late evening of Aug. 6, 1978, a heavy iron chain was pulled across the door of the papal summer palace. All the lights in the area were turned off, and the flag was set at half-mast. The fountain on the village square in front of the palace ran dry, and the bells of the nearby church began to ring. These symbolic signs marked the end of Pope Paul VI's term in office. He had died at his summer residence at 9:40 p.m., a few hours after having a massive heart attack.

Just like his predecessors, Pope Paul had withdrawn from the Vatican when the hot summer months began, heading to Castel Gandolfo to enjoy the cool climate and relax during long strolls through the gardens at the almost 400-year-old papal palace.

At 8 p.m. on Feb. 28, 2013, the third papacy in the history of the Catholic Church will come to an end at this history-rich location in the Alban Hills, where Pope Benedict XVI will go while a conclave is held to choose his successor. It's a striking place, and not just because of its long history. It was here that Emperor Domitian (AD 81-96) once ordered the bloody persecution of early Christians. Roman emperors had come to appreciate the climate it offered at 426 meters (1,400 feet) above sea level, and Domitian had a palace erected here. Around 1200, the Gandolfi family from Genoa, which Castel Gandolfi would later be named after, built a villa here. Since 1596, the main part of what is now the papal summer residence has been owned by the Vatican.

Italian Occupiers

Urban VIII (1623-1649) had the massive summer palace built and was the first pope to vacation here. German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited the town in 1787, while on his famous Italian journey, and gushingly praised its idyllic location on the deep-blue Lake Albano. The popes held it in equal esteem, and almost all of them would make annual pilgrimages to the site. Continue reading

Sources

• Spiegel Online
• Image: Hello Daily News

The Pope arrived just last Tuesday at Castel Gandolfo, the beautiful town south-east of Rome where he usually spends a period of summer rest.

But much of his time will be a working holiday, spent studying, praying and writing: "The Pope has started working on his book on Jesus again," Benedict XVI's spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi said in a briefing recently.

Continue reading