Pope Leo XIV visited the Vatican Observatory in Castel Gandolfo on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 19, 2026. The visit took place while the Pope was spending the day working and resting in the town near Rome. This was not the Pope’s first visit to the observatory. He had previously been there on July 20, 2025, for the 56th anniversary of the Moon landing.
Upon arrival, Pope Leo XIV was welcomed by Sister Raffaella Petrini, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, along with secretaries general Archbishop Emilio Nappa and Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi. Also present were the director of the Observatory, Jesuit Father Richard Anthony D’Souza, and his predecessor, Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno, who now serves as president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. After a brief moment of prayer in the facility’s chapel, the Pope met and greeted the religious, scientific, and lay staff of the observatory.