For the month of June I have been one of the participants in the Vatican Observatory Summer School at Castel Gandolfo. It has been an experience of wonder, confusion, friendship, and joy.
The highlights of the school have been learning cutting edge astronomy, visiting many sites around Italy (Subiaco, Tivoli, Florence, and Ostia), building friendships with the faculty, students and Jesuits of the Vatican Observatory, and our opportunity to meet the Pope at a papal audience.
The theme of this year’s school was looking at the results and capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This amazing telescope sits 1.5 million km from Earth. It has the ability to detect light from some of the first galaxies to form over 13 billion years ago. It can help us study planets orbiting our neighbouring stars. It gives us new insights into our own solar system. JWST is helping astronomers better understand both the formation and the death of stars.
JWST is the fruit of almost three decades of planning and collaboration among scientists and engineers from all over the world. It shows us what can happen if we allow our curiosity and creativity to flourish and if we decide to work together.
I have been filled with wonder as the faculty of the school presented results obtained using JWST. Not only are the images beautiful, but they are of a high scientific quality. I keep finding myself saying “wow” – impressed at the precision, care, and creativity of the scientists. Pope Leo said to us during the audience, “In our own day, do not the James Webb images also fill us with wonder, and indeed a mysterious joy, as we contemplate their sublime beauty?”
However, my science background is in engineering rather than astronomy and so it has also been a bit difficult to keep up at times. I have had to spend lessons and free time Googling the unfamiliar terminology and acronyms. Sometimes I have to accept that I have no idea what is going on during a presentation. I have had to learn to be ok with feeling confused. I have had to learn to put my pride aside and say “I don’t understand, please can you explain this concept, this experiment, this result.”
Thankfully, astronomers tend to have a healthy passion for their field. They almost all chose astronomy because of their love of exploring the Universe. Therefore, they are more than happy to answer my questions, even the most basic and silly.
We often think of science as being done by lone wolf geniuses locked away in their laboratories. In truth, science happens in a community. Ideas are discussed over coffee and experiments are planned during a visit to the gelato shop. Good scientific processes and results are refined by conversation and debate. There is no science without fellowship.
Developing friendships among the participants of the Summer School has been one of the great joys for me. We come from every continent and diverse cultures and backgrounds. We have had the joy of sharing our cultures, foods, languages, and stories with one another. We have shared many moments of deep conversation and laughter.
Pope Leo also highlighted this communitarian aspect of science, saying, “think of all the people over the last thirty years who worked to build the Space Telescope and its instruments, and those who worked to develop the scientific ideas that it was designed to test… it was also with the support of your families and so many of your friends that you have been able to appreciate and take part in this wonderful enterprise.”
Science is not disconnected from society and culture. The Church’s involvement in astronomy began when Pope Gregory XIII asked Jesuits to help refine the Church’s calendar, which they did through careful observations of the sun and stars. There were once astronomical observatories within the Vatican and on top of St Ignatius Church in Rome. There are still two telescopes on the papal palace in Castel Gandolfo. I have been encouraged to realize the interconnectedness of science, art, the church and the practical realities of people’s lives.
It has been consoling for me to live in the Jesuit community of the Vatican Observatory during the summer school. I have shared this experience of being a Jesuit student at the school with Fr Rojas Thomas of the Kerala Province. The community of Jesuit priests and brothers, and two diocesan priests, is deeply committed to the mission of the Observatory to show the world and the Church that science and faith are not at odds with one another. They minister faithfully to their fellow scientists, investing heavily in building relationships and encouraging creativity and collaboration in their field. They pray every evening at Mass for their students and fellow scientists. Through their wonder, joy and friendship they witness the Kingdom of God in the midst of the scientific community.
As the school comes to a close and I get ready to begin my Theology studies at Hekima College (Kenya) next month, I have a moment to reflect with gratitude on my experience of this Summer School. I am grateful for the gifts of wonder and confusion at the amazing work of the JWST scientists and engineers and I am grateful for the gift and joy of friendships developed during the school.
Sean van Staden, S.J. is a Jesuit scholastic, and a student at this year’s VOSS. He is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. You can follow him on Facebook.
