Home/Stay Informed/All Diocesan Articles

All Diocesan Articles

Webb Telescope Images Feed the Mind and Spirit, Jesuit Astronomer Says

Posted on July 14, 2022 in: News

Webb Telescope Images Feed the Mind and Spirit, Jesuit Astronomer Says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Jesuits at the Vatican Observatory were wowed like most people by the beauty of the photos from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, but the director said they also are excited by the scientific information the telescope will reveal.

“Such images are a necessary food for the human spirit — we do not live by bread alone — especially in these times,” said Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, the observatory director, after NASA released a first batch of images from what the space agency describes as “the largest, most powerful space telescope ever built.”

“The images are gorgeous, as anyone can see for themselves,” Brother Consolmagno said. “It’s a tantalizing glimpse of what we’ll be able to learn about the universe with this telescope in the future.”

NASA described Webb’s mission as studying “every phase of 13.5 billion years of cosmic history — from within our solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe, and everything in between.”

“The science behind this telescope is our attempt to use our God-given intelligence to understand the logic of the universe,” Brother Consolmagno said. “The universe wouldn’t work if it weren’t logical. But as these images show, the universe is not only logical, it is also beautiful.”

“This is God’s creation being revealed to us, and in it we can see both his astonishing power and his love of beauty,” the Jesuit said.

The Vatican Observatory director also noted that “astronomy is a small field,” so he knows many of the scientists who helped build the instruments on the telescope and plan its observations.

Their years of effort, he said, “is a tribute to the power of the human spirit, what we can do when we work together.”

“And at the same time,” he said, “I am amazed and grateful that God has given us humans, his creation, the ability to see and understand what he has done.”

Pointing to the telescope’s “first spectrum of water vapor in the atmosphere of an exoplanet,” a planet that orbits a star outside the solar system, Brother Consolmagno reminded readers of one of his Jesuit-scientist predecessors.

“It was about 150 years ago when Father Angelo Secchi, S.J., put a prism in front of his telescope lens on the roof of the St. Ignatius Church in Rome, and made the first spectral measurements of the atmospheres of the planets in our own solar system,” he said. “I can only imagine how delighted he would be to see the science he pioneered applied to planets unknown to him orbiting distant stars.”

By Catholic News Service


Most Viewed Articles of the Last 30 Days

Calendar of Events

Posted on May 30, 2025 in: Events, Around the Diocese

30657

The Diocese of Norwich Emerges from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy with Confirmation of Reorganization Plan
Hartford, CT—On Wednesday, the United States Bankruptcy Court in Hartford confirmed the Diocese of Norwich’s Joint Plan of Reorganization, marking the official emergence of The Norwich Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation from chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Honorable Judge James J. Tancredi presided over the confirmation hearing, held on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., and approved the plan on the record at the hearing, subject to entry of an order confirming the plan to be submitted by the parties. The confirmed Joint Plan was proposed by the Norwich Roma...

Read More

Bishop Reidy Thanks the Faithful and Invites All to Pray a Pentecost Novena
My dear friends in Christ, Thank you all very much for your very warm welcome of me as your new Bishop.  As I meet with priests, deacons, and parishioners and make my way around the Diocese to parish Masses, Confirmations, school visits, Holy Hours, and dinner events, I am reminded how fortunate I am to be with you in our diocese.  Thank you for all you do. I am also acutely aware that all the good I hope to do together with you for God and His people depends utterly on God's grace. To that end, I am endeavoring to keep in mind the necessity of prayer...

Read More

Bishop Reidy Shares Thoughts on the Image of God, Religious Art
This week on Hope and Faith series, Bishop Richard Reidy of the Diocese of Norwich shares his thoughts on the image of God and discusses his favorite pieces of religious art.   View previous videos or more articles on Faith by visiting NorwichDiocese.org/FaithSparks            

Read More

St. Rita of Cascia: Patroness of the Impossible- Feast Day May 22
St. Rita of Cascia: Patroness of the Impossible Feast Day: May 22 In the quiet hills of 14th-century Italy, a woman named Rita lived a life marked by hardship, heartbreak, and, ultimately, holiness. Born in the town of Roccaporena, Rita longed from an early age to enter religious life. But in obedience to her parents, she married a man known for his temper and violent tendencies. Her life as a wife and mother was not easy, but through prayer and patience, Rita brought peace to her home, even softening her husband’s heart before his tragic death. After losing bo...

Read More

The Promise of the Ascension

Posted on May 21, 2025 in: Reflections

1070

The Promise of the Ascension
    Forty days after Easter Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. While often seen as a quiet moment between the joy of the Resurrection and the fire of Pentecost, Ascension Thursday is much more than a transition. It is a cornerstone of our Christian hope. As recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus, after appearing to His disciples and speaking to them about the Kingdom of God, is “lifted up, and a cloud took Him from their sight” (Acts 1:9). His Ascension does not mark the end of His presence but the beginn...

Read More

Annual Catholic Appeal

ACA DONATE

English

Español

 

Latest Articles
Recently Added Galleries
Click to view album: Episcopal Ordination of Bishop Richard F. Reidy
Click to view album: Students Called to Feed the Hungry
Click to view album: 40 Days for Life 2024
Click to view album: Blessing of the Fleet 2024
Signup for Weekly Newsletter

     

    Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich
    201 Broadway
    Norwich, CT 06360-4328
    Phone: 860-887-9294