Vatican City: The Vatican Observatory enters a new chapter as Fr Richard Anthony D’Souza, SJ, an accomplished astronomer and Jesuit priest from India, has been named its next Director by Pope Leo XIV. The announcement was made Thursday by the Vatican Governorate, confirming that Fr D’Souza will take the helm of the Church’s premier scientific institution when Br Guy Consolmagno, SJ, completes his decade-long tenure on 19 September 2025.
This transition comes as part of a well-prepared succession plan initiated prior to the passing of Pope Francis. With the appointment, the Pope affirms the Vatican’s continued commitment to scientific excellence and the harmony between faith and reason.
Born in 1978 in Goa, India, Fr Richard D’Souza began his journey in the Society of Jesus in 1996 and was ordained a priest in 2011 after studies in philosophy and theology at Jnana Deepa, Pune. But his call to the stars was just as strong. He earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Physics, conducting thesis work at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany. His PhD in Astronomy, completed at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Munich, explored how galaxies form and evolve over time.
He furthered his expertise through a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA, deepening his research on galactic mergers how massive galaxies like the Milky Way have grown through cosmic collisions. Since 2016, Fr D’Souza has been a key member of the Vatican Observatory’s scientific team, and since 2022, he has also served as the Superior of the Jesuit community at the Observatory.
An active voice in the international scientific community, he is a member of the International Astronomical Union and participates in numerous global research collaborations. In a notable recognition, an asteroid was recently named in his honor.
In expressing his support for the transition, Br Consolmagno praised Fr D’Souza as “a scientist with the vision and wisdom to guide the Observatory into a new era of astronomical exploration,” especially amid rapid advancements in computational astrophysics and space-based observations.
Fr D’Souza, in turn, honored Br Consolmagno’s legacy of bridging faith and science through global outreach and education. “His decade of leadership has been marked by tireless efforts to foster dialogue, inspire curiosity, and uphold the Observatory’s global scientific reputation,” he said.
Even after stepping down as director, Br Consolmagno will remain active as a staff astronomer and continue leading the Vatican Observatory Foundation, based in Tucson, Arizona.
With roots dating back centuries and formally established in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vatican Observatory is among the oldest astronomical institutions in the world. Its founding document, the Motu Proprio Ut Mysticam, clarified the Church’s mission in science: not opposition, but deep engagement embracing discovery as a path to deeper truth.
Today, the Observatory’s Jesuit astronomers explore a vast range of cosmic questions from meteorites and stellar evolution to galaxy formation and the mysteries of the Big Bang. They see their work as a sacred vocation, offering a unique bridge between cutting-edge astrophysics and the Church’s age-old quest to understand the created universe.
As Fr Richard D’Souza prepares to lead this legacy into the future, the Vatican Observatory remains a powerful symbol of the harmony between faith and reason, a place where science is not only studied but also revered.