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Vatican Observatory
The Vatican Observatory () is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, the Observatory is now headquartered in Castel Gandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope at the Mount Graham International Observatory in the United States. The Director of the Observatory is Brother Guy Consolmagno, an American Jesuit. In 2008, the Templeton Prize was awarded to cosmologist Fr. Michał Heller, a Vatican Observatory Adjunct Scholar. In 2010, the George Van Biesbroeck Prize was awarded to former observatory director, the American Jesuit, Fr. George Coyne. History The Church has had a long-standing interest in astronomy, due to the astronomical basis of the calendar by which holy days and Easter are determined. For instance, the Gregorian Calendar, promulgated in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, was developed by Aloysius Lilius and later modified by Christoph Clavius at the Collegio Romano from astronomical data. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome, which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Catholic Church and the sovereign city-state known as the Vatican City. According to Catholic tradition it was founded in the first century by Saints Peter and Paul and, by virtue of Petrine and papal primacy, is the focal point of full communion for Catholic Christians around the world. As a sovereign entity, the Holy See is headquartered in, operates from, and exercises "exclusive dominion" over the independent Vatican City State enclave in Rome, of which the pope is sovereign. The Holy See is administered by the Roman Curia (Latin for "Roman Court"), which is the central government of the Catholic Church. The Roman Curia includes various dicasteries, comparable to ministries and ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years differently so as to make the average calendar year 365.2425 days long, more closely approximating the 365.2422-day 'tropical' or 'solar' year that is determined by the Earth's revolution around the Sun. The rule for leap years is: There were two reasons to establish the Gregorian calendar. First, the Julian calendar assumed incorrectly that the average solar year is exactly 365.25 days long, an overestimate of a little under one day per century, and thus has a leap year every four years without exception. The Gregorian reform shortened the average (calendar) year by 0.0075 days to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes.See Wikisource English translation of the (Latin) 1582 papal bull '' Inter gravissimas''. Second, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francesco Denza
Francesco Denza (7 June 1834 – 14 December 1894) was an Italian meteorologist and astronomer. Biography Francesco Denza was born on 7 June 1834 in Naples. He joined the Barnabites at the age of sixteen, and during his theological course at Rome studied at the same time meteorology and astronomy under Father Angelo Secchi. From 1856 until 1890 he was attached to the Barnabite college at Moncalieri where he became widely known for his work in meteorology, a science which he advanced not merely by his personal observations and studies but also by the interest which he roused in it throughout Italy. In 1859 Denza founded the ''Bullettino mensile di Meteorolgia'' (Monthly Bulletin of Meteorology), which was continued until 1894, and established a meteorological observatory at Moncalieri; it was largely through his influence that similar observatories, more than 200 in number, were gradually built in various parts of Italy. The success which attended his efforts gave him a national re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carte Du Ciel
The Carte du Ciel (literally, 'Map of the Sky') and the Astrographic Catalogue (or Astrographic Chart) were two distinct but connected components of a massive international astronomical project, initiated in the late 19th century, to catalogue and map the positions of millions of stars as faint as 11th or 12th magnitude. Twenty observatories from around the world participated in exposing and measuring more than 22,000 (glass) photographic plates in an enormous observing programme extending over several decades. Despite, or because of, its vast scale, the project was only ever partially successful – the Carte du Ciel component was never completed, and for almost half a century the Astrographic Catalogue part was largely ignored. However, the appearance of the Hipparcos Catalogue in 1997 has led to an important development in the use of this historical plate material. Origins and goals A vast and unprecedented international star-mapping project was initiated in 1887 by Pari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motu Proprio
In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him.Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 ), s.v. motu proprio Such a document may be addressed to the whole church, to part of it, or to some individuals. A document issued ''motu proprio'' has its legal effect, even if the reasons given for its issuance are found to be false or fraudulent, a fact which would normally render the document invalid. Its validity is based on its issuance by the pope by his own initiative, not upon the reasons alleged. The first ''motu proprio'' was promulgated by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484. It continues to be a common form of papal rescript, especially when establishing institutions, making minor changes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-oldest-serving pope, and the third-longest-lived pope in history, before Pope Benedict XVI as Pope emeritus, and had the List of popes by length of reign, fourth-longest reign of any, behind those of Saint Peter, St. Peter, Pius IX (his immediate predecessor) and John Paul II. He is well known for his intellectualism and his attempts to define the position of the Catholic Church with regard to modern thinking. In his famous 1891 Papal encyclical, encyclical ''Rerum novarum'', Pope Leo outlined the rights of workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions, and the formation of trade unions, while affirming the rights of property and free enterprise, opposing both socialism and laissez-faire capitalism. With that encyclical, he became popularly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single state in 1861, the Kingdom of Italy. Inspired by the rebellions in the 1820s and 1830s against the outcome of the Congress of Vienna, the unification process was precipitated by the Revolutions of 1848, and reached completion in 1871 after the Capture of Rome and its designation as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Some of the states that had been targeted for unification ('' terre irredente'') did not join the Kingdom of Italy until 1918 after Italy defeated Austria-Hungary in the First World War. For this reason, historians sometimes describe the unification period as continuing past 1871, including activities during the late 19th century and the First World War (1915–1918), and reaching completion only with the Armistice of Villa G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sant'Ignazio
la, Ecclesia Sancti Ignatii a Loyola in Campo Martio , image = Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome.jpg , imagesize = 300px , caption = Façade of Sant'Ignazio , mapframe =yes , mapframe-caption =Click on the map for a fullscreen view , mapframe-zoom =12 , mapframe-marker =religious-christian , coordinates = , location = Via del Caravita, 8ARome , country = Italy , denomination = Roman Catholic , website = , former name = , bull date = , founded date = , founder = , dedication = , dedicated date = , consecrated date = 1722 , relics = , status = Parish churchtitular church regional church , functional status = Active , heritage designation = , designated date = , architect = Orazio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angelo Secchi
Angelo Secchi (; 28 June 1818 – 26 February 1878) was an Italian Catholic priest, astronomer from the Italian region of Emilia. He was director of the observatory at the Pontifical Gregorian University (then called the Roman College) for 28 years. He was a pioneer in astronomical spectroscopy, and was one of the first scientists to state authoritatively that the Sun is a star. Biography Secchi was born in Reggio Emilia, where he studied at the Jesuit gymnasium. At the age of 16, he entered the Jesuit Order in Rome. He continued his studies at the Roman College, and demonstrated great scientific ability. In 1839, he was appointed tutor of mathematics and physics at the college. In 1841, he became professor of physics at the Jesuit College in Loreto. In 1844, he began theological studies in Rome, and was ordained a priest on 12 September 1847. In 1848, due to the Roman Revolution, the Jesuits were ordered to leave Rome. Angelo Secchi spent the next two years in the United Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ottaviano Nonni
Ottaviano Nonni (1536 – 6 August 1606), called Il Mascherino, was an Italian architect, sculptor, and painter born in Bologna. Apprentice of Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, he was active in Emilia and in Rome, where he had been living in the rione of Borgo, in the road still bearing his name (''Via del Mascherino''). He was the architect of the Quirinal Palace under Pope Gregory XIII. His other works include the churches of San Salvatore in Lauro (1591), Santa Maria in Transpontina, the Bandini Chapel in San Silvestro al Quirinale, and the oval plan-design for the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in '' Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name from the church, placed in the sou .... He died in Rome in 1606. References * * 1536 births 1606 deaths 16th-century Italian architects Architects from Bologna Artists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregorian Tower
The Gregorian Tower ( it, Torre Gregoriana) or Tower of the Winds ( it, Torre dei Venti) is a square tower and early modern observatory located above the Gallery of Maps, which connects the Villa Belvedere with the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. The tower was built between 1578 and 1580 to a design by the Bolognese architect Ottaviano Mascherino (who was credited with building the Apostolic Palace) mainly to promote the study of astronomy for the Gregorian Calendar Reform which was commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII and promulgated in 1582. It was then also known as the Tower of Winds. The tower was also called "Specola Astronomica Vaticana", a reference to the Vatican Observatory. Four stages of progressive development have occurred since it was first established. The tower was an edifice of great value for astronomical observations made using a sundial as they provided essential confirmation of the need to reform the Julian calendar. Early history The first stage of build ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyola, and included all grades of schooling. Its chairs of philosophy and theology received Papal approval in 1556, making it the first institution founded by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). In 1584, the Roman College was given a new home by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was renamed the Gregorian University. It had distinguished scholars in ecclesiastical fields as well as in natural science and mathematics. Only the theology and philosophy departments of the Gregorian survived the political turmoil in Italy after 1870. Today, the Gregorian has an international faculty and around 2,750 students from over 150 countries. History Founding Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
