06 VO annual report FINAL - Vatican Observatory

VATICAN OBSERVATORY
From the Director
Times of Transition
A transition generates fear and hope. Fear for the unknown and hope for a better future. I am confident
in the Providence that we will always face a better future, though we know that “all creation is
groaning in labor pains even until now” (Romans 8:22). Here I would like to highlight two important
transitions in the directorship of the Vatican Observatory.
One Hundred Years Ago: The First Jesuit Director
The year 1906 was a year of transition for the Vatican Observatory. That year, after a difficult period
in the history of the Observatory, Johann Hagen, S.J., arrived in Rome following his appointment
by Pius X as the new director of the Vatican Observatory. At that time, Father Hagen was a
well-known astronomer and the Director of the Jesuit Georgetown College Observatory in Washington,
D.C. The appointment of Father Hagen, a Jesuit, marked a new direction for the Observatory.
Father Hagen’s contributions are described in a booklet written by Sabino Maffeo, S.J., Special Assistant
to the Director. In this historical narrative, whose title in English is J.G. Hagen, S.J., Astronomer
and Priest, Father Maffeo writes: “Today when the Jesuits at the Vatican Observatory are
asked by visitors and journalists about the relationship between science and faith, the quick and easy
answer to that question is to say that the fact that we are religious men and scientists tells more than
words that science and faith are completely compatible.” Father Hagen was an exemplar witness of
science and faith. We try to follow in his steps.
And Now, Another Transition
The year 2006 was another time of transition at the Vatican Observatory. On 20 August L’Osservatore
Romano, the Vatican’s official newspaper, announced that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed
me the new Director of the Vatican Observatory, succeeding George Coyne, S.J., in that office.
After 28 years of service, Father Coyne asked our superiors in May if they didn't think it was time
for the Vatican Observatory to select a new director, and they agreed to accept his resignation as
well as appoint a new director. He is taking a well-deserved sabbatical at St. Raphael Catholic
Church in Raleigh, North Carolina and will rejoin the Vatican Observatory in September 2007. Father
Coyne remains as President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation Board of Directors.
The entire Observatory staff is most grateful to Father Coyne for his years of inspired leadership.
Personally, I am delighted that Father Coyne will continue his work with the Vatican Observatory
Foundation and that after the sabbatical year he will be back with the Vatican Observatory.
Father Coyne’s Directorship
Prior to being appointed Director of the Vatican Observatory in 1978, Father Coyne was Director of
the Catalina Observatory and Acting Director of Steward Observatory; both institutions are part of
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