Every 2 years, the Vatican Observatory Foundation runs a 4-day educational workshop called ACME – Astronomy for Catholics in Ministry and Education. The workshop is hosted at the beautiful Redemptorist Retreat Center in the foothills near Tucson, where you can look down upon the city lights of Tucson, and still see the Milky Way above it.
The workshop features lectures from Jesuits from the Vatican Observatory, and astronomers and scientists from the University of Arizona, Steward Observatory and more! There are field trips to the Mount Lemmon Sky Center, the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary center, the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, and Biosphere II (all weather-dependent).
The 2026 ACME featured:
- Br. Bob Macke discussed two NASA spacecraft missions he’s involved with
- Dr. Larry Lebofsky gave a hands-on introduction to meteorites
- Br. Guy Consolmagno discussed Galileo
- Dr. Melissa Brucker discussed Spacewatch (NEO and PHA observations and classifications)
- Dr. Brenda Frye discussed cosmology and the James Webb Space Telescope
- Dr. Richard Green discussed light pollution and dark skies
- A trip to Biosphere II (Mount Lemmon Sky Center was snowed-out)
- A panel discussion with several Vatican astronomers
- And everyone talked about teaching astronomy in a Catholic setting
ACME Workshop a Success!
Comments from ACME 2026 attendees were very positive; many exclaimed the camaraderie from group meals, after-lecture chat sessions, and nighttime telescope observing sessions. Being up-close and personal with Jesuits from the Vatican Observatory – several of them priests, was an unexpected experience for some first-timers, and we did have some returning attendees.
I was expecting a positive experience, but I guess I was just not expecting something that was quite this good.
I learned a lot about what I need to focus my planetarium programs on to support teachers better.
For those in religious education, astronomy really needs to be a part of the science program. Not because it’s necessary for students to prepare for many college programs, but because it’s essential for them to gain perspective, humility and gratitude.
