Eighty years ago, on 29 September, 1935, Pope Pius XI dedicated the new quarters and telescopes of the Vatican Observatory in his summer palace. To celebrate the anniversary, this month we held a symposium at Castel Gandolfo, including a visit to the old domes that Pius XI had dedicated. The party ended in a private audience in Rome with Pope Francis. After giving us a short address, he looked up and caught my eye. He smiled, and said, “Ah! The new director!”It is true. As of that day, I am the new director of the Vatican Observatory. (I actually didn’t completely believe it until I heard him say it.)Will I continue to write for The Tablet? Yes, as long as there is a place for me. It is not only because I love being a part of this journal. When Pope Leo XIII founded the