Pope Francis met with a group from the second Conference of the Vatican Specola on the anniversary of the death of Fr George Lemaitre, the Catholic priest who formulated the modern big bang theory.
He encouraged them to continue their search for truth, which can be found in the unison of science and religion.
“Faith and science can be united in love, if science is put at the service of the men and women of our time and not distorted to their detriment or even for their destruction,” the pope said.
“I encourage you to go to the peripheries of human knowledge: it is here that we can experience the God of Love, who satisfies and quenches the thirst of our hearts.”
The Vatican Specola is the Catholic Church’s astronomical research and observatory centre located in Castel Gandolfo, the location of the old papal summer residence.