In 1957, some of the world’s most eminent astronomers met at the Vatican to discuss the topic of an evolving universe.

In 1957, some of the world’s most eminent astronomers met at the Vatican to discuss the topic of an evolving universe. All were of northern European descent. None were women. None were people of colour. Georges Lemaître – whose expanding universe theory had been mocked by fellow attendee Fred Hoyle as a “Big Bang” – had to struggle to get taken seriously; as a Catholic priest his ideas about cosmology seemed suspicious.

Although the Vatican Observatory was officially a co-sponsor of the meeting, none of its astronomers participated. The observatory had been established by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, mostly as a gimmick to make the Church look modern, and its astronomers worked on projects chosen by the director, with little scope for their own research, much less to show the public what they were doing … except for an occasional article in the Catholic press by the director.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

REGISTER

Subscribe for unlimited access

SUBSCRIBE NOW

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login