The Observatory's own history: roots in the 1582 calendar reform, Father Francesco Denza, the Carte du Ciel telescope, Leo XIII's motu proprio of 14 March 1891, and the VATT inaugurated on 17–19 September 1993.
“On 14 March 1891 Leo XIII solemnly confirmed, with his Motu Proprio, Ut Mysticam, the foundation of the Specola Vaticana” source
OFFICIALVatican Observatory (Specola Vaticana) · DATE TO VERIFY
Describes the Observatory's instruments, from the Carte du Ciel astrograph of 1891 to the VATT on Mount Graham, completed in 1993 with Steward Observatory, where most of its observing is done today.
“In 1993, the Vatican Observatory, in collaboration with Steward Observatory, completed the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) on Mount Graham in Arizona, probably the finest astronomical site in the continental United States.” source
OFFICIALVatican Observatory (Specola Vaticana) · DATE TO VERIFY
Short self-description: formal establishment in 1891 under Leo XIII, headquarters at Castel Gandolfo, VATT on Mount Graham in partnership with the University of Arizona, Jesuit staff, and peer-reviewed astrophysics.
“The Vatican Observatory maintains that scientific inquiry and religious faith are complementary rather than opposed.” source
OFFICIALVatican Observatory (Specola Vaticana) · DATE TO VERIFY
Current staff list: Rev. Richard D'Souza SJ as director, and Br Guy J. Consolmagno SJ as staff astronomer and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, researching asteroids and meteorites.
OFFICIALPontifical Academy of Sciences · 2009-11-10
Conclusions of the study week held at the Casina Pio IV, 6–10 November 2009: early life, extreme environments, icy moons, Titan, Mars, more than 400 exoplanets, and a recommendation to support SETI.
“SETI should be encouraged and supported as a part of astrobiological research, and expanded beyond the private venture it is today.” source
CLASSIFIEDDeclassifiedFILE NO. 029SHEET 2 OF 3
Press
Newspaper and magazine coverage, then and now. Linked, never copied.
PRESSCatholic World News (CatholicCulture.org) · 2009-11-11
Report on the close of the five-day study week: about thirty scientists, Funes on why the topic suits the Academy, and the note that the conference was devoted to the science, not the philosophical questions.
“The questions of life's origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe are very suitable and deserve serious consideration” source
Light-hearted report on the study week. Quotes Funes's 2008 interview in L'Osservatore Romano on a ‘brother alien’ and his suggestion that aliens might be free of original sin.
Consolmagno's column written after the study week: the end of the world, meteorites and astrobiology, and the point that the Church has thought about life on other worlds since at least Nicholas of Cusa.
“Thinking about extraterrestrial life is not at all new for us, or for the church, of course.” source
First published in The Tablet in November 2009; reposted on the Vatican Observatory Foundation's site (2016, page dated 28 Nov 2019).
Profile of the Observatory's director: a leading meteorite expert, made director of the Vatican Observatory in 2015.
Opened via doi.org/10.1063/PT.6.6.20170919a.
CLASSIFIEDDeclassifiedFILE NO. 029SHEET 3 OF 3
Analysis
Our own reading of the file, written from the sources on the other sheets. Opinion is marked as such.
What is documented, by the Vatican itself: an observatory founded in 1891 with roots in the 1582 calendar reform, a working research telescope on Mount Graham since 1993, and a staff of Jesuit astronomers working on topics from meteorites to cosmology. Its own pages describe a Church-run body doing peer-reviewed astrophysics, and say it holds science and faith to be complementary.
The ‘disclosure’ reading takes the same facts and adds a motive: a telescope in Arizona, a 2009 conference on life beyond Earth and a director who spoke of a brother alien are read as the Church preparing the faithful for contact. The documents themselves are plainer. The 2009 final statement is about chemistry, microbes, exoplanets and radio searches, and recommends supporting SETI; it says nothing about visitors. Consolmagno wrote the same month that the Observatory's files hold press coverage of extraterrestrial life going back at least fifty years.
Our label is Confirmed, for the institution and its activities. Whether the Church is preparing an announcement is a claim about intentions; we found no document that supports it, and the Observatory's published statements describe ordinary science.
What it shows
That the Vatican Observatory exists, was formally founded by Leo XIII on 14 March 1891, and runs a research telescope on Mount Graham, Arizona, completed in 1993 with Steward Observatory.
That in 2009 the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, with the Observatory, hosted a study week on astrobiology whose final statement recommends supporting SETI.
That senior Observatory astronomers have said publicly that extraterrestrial life would not conflict with the faith.
What it doesn't prove
That the Vatican knows of extraterrestrial life. The 2009 statement discusses searching for it, not finding it.
That the Church is preparing a ‘disclosure’. No document opened for this file says so.
That the Arizona telescope serves any purpose beyond astronomy. The Observatory describes it as a research telescope run with Steward Observatory.
The other side
The ‘disclosure’ case, stated fairly: the Holy See does not need a telescope in Arizona, yet built one; it convened scientists in 2009 specifically on life beyond Earth; and its chief astronomer told the Pope's own newspaper in 2008 that an alien would ‘belong to the creation’ and might not share original sin. To believers in disclosure, that is a theology being prepared for news. The press at the time framed the week as the Vatican deciding how to deal with extraterrestrial life.
Three readings of the Vatican's interest in the sky
Believers
Scientists
Sceptics
Why the Church runs an observatory
Faith and science are complementary, not opposed: the Observatory's own stated position. [vo-about]
A working research institute: meteorites, star clusters, cosmology, and since 1993 a telescope on one of the best sites in the continental United States. [vo-telescopes]
Also a matter of standing: the history notes Leo XIII saw an observatory as a way for the Holy See to be recognised as independent of Italy. [vo-history]
Life beyond Earth
An alien would ‘also belong to the creation’, a ‘brother alien’ in the spirit of St Francis (Funes, 2008). [register-2009]
The 2009 study week covered the origin of life, extreme microbes, icy moons and exoplanets, and recommended that SETI be supported. [pas-2009]
Nothing new: the Observatory's files hold press coverage of the topic going back at least fifty years (Consolmagno, 2009). [consolmagno-2009]
The ‘disclosure’ claim
The telescope, the conference and the ‘brother alien’ remarks are read as the Church preparing for contact; the 2009 press framed the week that way. [register-2009]
The study week's own account: about thirty scientists, focused on the science; the philosophical questions were noted but not the subject. [catholicculture-2009]
The final statement speaks of searching for signals, not of anything found or any visitor. [pas-2009]
Open questions
What exactly did the full 2008 L'Osservatore Romano interview with Funes say? We cite it only as quoted by the press.
What does the Observatory publish on its current research with VATT? Its annual reports are listed on its site but were not read for this file.
TO VERIFY Candidates, not yet checked
A reputable source that sets out the ‘Church preparing for disclosure’ claim in its proponents' own words: not found before the search budget ran out. The claim is summarised here from the facts its proponents point to.
Consolmagno's 2010 remarks on baptising an extraterrestrial, as reported by The Guardian (theguardian.com/science/2010/sep/17/pope-astronomer-baptise-aliens): the page could not be fetched, so nothing from it is used.
Funes's 2008 interview in L'Osservatore Romano: cited via The Register only; the original was not opened.
When Consolmagno's term as director ended and Richard D'Souza's began: the staff page is undated.
Found, but not linked to a source we trust. Not on the sheets until they are.
