Publisher Fact Sheet The unexpected scientific & spiritual adventures of a Vatican astronomer.

Publisher Fact Sheet The unexpected scientific & spiritual adventures of a Vatican astronomer.

Witty and thought provoking, two Vatican astronomers shed provocative light on some of the strange places where religion and science meet. “Imagine if a Martian showed up, all big ears and big nose like a child’s drawing, and he asked to be baptized. How would you react?” —Pope Francis, May, 2014 Pope Francis posed that question—without insisting on an answer!—to provoke deeper reflection about inclusiveness and diversity in the Church. But it's not the first time that question has been asked. Brother Guy Consolmagno and Father Paul Mueller hear questions like that all the time. They’re scientists at the Vatican Observatory, the official astronomical research institute of the Catholic Church. In Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? they explore a variety of questions at the crossroads of faith and reason: How do you reconcile the The Big Bang with Genesis? Was the Star of Bethlehem just a pious religious story or an actual description of astronomical events? What really went down between Galileo and the Catholic Church—and why do the effects of that confrontation still reverberate to this day? Will the Universe come to an end? And… could you really baptize an extraterrestrial? With disarming humor, Brother Guy and Father Paul explore these questions and more over the course of six days of dialogue. Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial will make you laugh, make you think, and make you reflect more deeply on science, faith, and the nature of the universe.

Caroline, known as “Lina” to her family, has always lived in the shadow of her older brother William Herschel’s accomplishments. And yet when William invites Lina to join him in England to assist in his musical and astronomical pursuits—not to mention to run his bachelor household—she accepts, finding a new sense of purpose. William may be an obsessive genius, but Lina adores him, and aids him with the same fervency as a beloved wife. When William decides to marry, however, Lina’s world collapses. As she attempts to rebuild a future, we witness the dawning of an early feminist consciousness—a woman struggling to find her own place among the stars.

In honor of the International Year of Astronomy and the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first astronomical observations, the Vatican and its century-old Observatory present "The Heavens Proclaim," an incredible demonstration of the beauty of the universe and the Catholic Church's role in its exploration.

With an “adroit and self-effacing style,” a Catholic brother, astronomer and physicist explains how scientists and engineers make sense of religion. In God's Mechanics, Brother Guy tells the stories of those who identify with the scientific mindset—so-called “techies”—while practicing religion. A self-decribed techie, astronomer, physicist and Director of the Vatican Observatory, Brother Guy shares some classic philosophical reflections, as well as his interviews with dozens of fellow techies, and his own personal take on his Catholic beliefs to provide, like a set of “worked out sample problems,” the hard data on the challenges and joys of embracing a life of faith as a techie. And he also gives a roadmap of the traps that can befall an unwary techie believer. With lively prose and wry humor, Brother Guy shows how he not only believes in God but gives religion an honored place alongside science in his life. This book offers an engaging look at how—and why—scientists and those with technological leanings can hold profound, “unprovable” religious beliefs while working in highly empirical fields. Through his own experience and interviews with other scientists and engineers who profess faith, Brother Guy explores how religious beliefs and practices make sense to those who are deeply rooted in the world of technology. “Brother Guy Consolmagno speaks in the softest, sanest voice imaginable as he enters the current firestorm of opinion re science and religion. His engaging commentary exposes the mindset of a true ‘techie’—but one who equates science with a sacred act.” —Dava Sobel, author, Galileo’s Daughter