Father Richard D’Souza, Indian Jesuit of the Vatican Observatory: “Studying the Origin of Galaxies I understand and contemplate the beauty of the Universe”.
“We live in a privileged moment to scrutinise the history of the universe: science today can take us even to distant peripheries as they were billions of years ago.” Father Richard D’Souza’s mission is decidedly unique. Forty-six years old, raised in a Christian family in Goa, India, his horizon is the stars farthest from our solar system. Superior of the Jesuit community of the Vatican Observatory, he is an astrophysicist with a PhD from the Max Planck Institute in Munich and further studies at the University of Michigan.
“My area of research is the origins of galaxies: in practice, I am an archaeologist of stars”, he explains, “I study how they were born and how they change over time, through clues that reveal phenomena that occurred billions of years ago. How stars are formed and how different galaxies attract each other until they merge. We know, for example, that the Milky Way, within which we all live, is attracting two other galaxies: in two or three billion years they will be a single reality. Through mathematical models we try to understand what this will entail”.
It all started with the passion for science of an Indian boy who had many friends among the Jesuits. “I was fascinated by the stories about the studies of Matteo Ricci and other brothers”, he says. “So, after finishing the novitiate, my province sent me to study physics in Mumbai”.
Bit by bit, his journey arrived at the Vatican Observatory next to the headquarters of Castel Gandolfo today, that can also count on a very advanced telescope on Mount Graham in Arizona, in the United States. Between the two locations, fifteen Jesuits of different nationalities are working in these two places.
“The Church’s interest in the sky is something very ancient,” comments Father D’Souza, “let’s think about the importance that the Vatican observatory had in the development of calendars and the definition of the date of Easter. But when, with the loss of political control over Rome, the question of re-establishing the Observatory arose, Leo XIII entrusted this institution with the specific task of making science and faith dialogue with each other. And that is what we still do today.”
“If I look at our days”, continues the Indian Jesuit, “I would say that 70% of our work is dedicated to research: we carry out our studies, we participate in conferences, we collaborate with other observatories. We find great openness towards us everywhere. The most difficult part, perhaps, is the other 30%: the time we dedicate to activities to remind the Church that science is not a hostile world. On this we still carry with us much suspicion and resistance.”
What does your research on galaxies say to faith? “We do not look at the sky to investigate God”, Father Richard replies, “but the reality of the universe. The more we think about the complexity of creation, the more we realize its beauty. Even if, in a certain sense, we work to offer ever-new reasons to praise God through a better understanding of his work.”
“We do not study scientific fields that have immediate consequences”, the Jesuit astronomer continues, “such as ecology or climatology. Instead, we try to give answers to the deepest questions that humanity carries within itself: where do we come from? What is our place in the universe? We can also try to imagine the end of our sun, pushing ourselves far ahead in time. And all of this is fascinating at every latitude. When I was in Kenya, I tried to get the kids in a shantytown to look at Saturn’s rings: the wonder and questions that these observations generate are the same everywhere.”
Among the great questions that have always arisen when looking at the sky, there is one that, according to Father D’Souza, will become central in a not-too-distant time frame: “Are we alone in the universe? Today, we have new tools to try to answer, because we are making great progress in the investigation of what exists outside the solar system. We now study the atmosphere of these planets and I am convinced that within twenty years we will have evidence of the presence of life forms in some of the billions of stars whose existence we know.”
“Today, we cannot yet say for sure, but all the conditions are in place for this to happen. We are talking about elementary life forms, molecules, but if they exist, the possibility of development into intelligent life forms cannot be excluded. What would such a discovery mean? And how can it be related to Revelation? I have the impression that theology will soon find itself having to deal with questions similar to those posed by the discovery of the “new worlds” beyond the ocean…”.
In the meantime, however, astronomy must also deal with much more down-to-earth issues: the exponential exploitation of resources risks creating problems in this area too. “The proliferation of satellites used for internet connections risks hiding the sky again” says Father D’Souza. “Not just those of Elon Musk: other competing companies are entering this market, each with hundreds of satellites that must rotate at a certain speed in the lower part of the atmosphere. There will be many more of them than those for telecommunications, leaving traces that heavily pollute the radio signals captured by telescopes. It is a great threat to our work.” (Gorgio Bernardelli/MM) – (Pixabay)
