Vatican Meteorite Collection -

I never imagined that the Vatican would have an observatory and meteorite collection. In 1543, Polish astronomer, Nicolas Copernicus, wrote “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres” about the Heliocentric theory laying the foundation that the Sun is the center of the solar system and the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun. Others had theorized this way before Copernicus, however, it was Copernicus’ publication that started the Heliocentric theory to become established. At the time, the Catholic church believed the Earth was the center of the universe, and the moon, planets and stars revolved around it. From the time of Aristotle, and the ancient Greeks, this was the belief. The bible is neither Geocentric or Heliocentric. In 1633, Galileo’s support of this model lead to his famous inquisition trial as a heretic before the Catholic church. The church also banned Copernicus’ and Galileo’s books. In time, both Copernicus and Galileo would be exonerated. This point in history did not paint a picture of the church basing some important beliefs on science or even the bible, therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the church has an observatory and a meteorite collection.

The Vatican observatory dates back to 1582 and is one of the oldest active observatories. Originally located in the Roman College of Rome, it is now headquartered in Castel Gandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope at the Mount Graham International Observatory in Safford, Arizona, U.S.A. Data from the observatory assisted in forming the Gregorian Calendar (the calendar most people in the world use today). From 1891 until the 1950’s, eighteen countries including the Vatican, produced the Carte du Ciel (map of the Heavens) the first photographic atlas of the stars.

French nobleman, Adrien-Charles, Marquis de Mauroy (1848-1927), established the meteorite collection at the Vatican with his donation of 104 specimens, including duplicates in 1907. In 1912, another 50 meteorite samples were added to the collection. The Marquis died in 1927, and in 1935, his widow Marie Caroline Eugénie donated all but the very largest pieces of his meteorite and mineral collection to the Vatican. This donation consisted of a thousand pieces sampling more than 400 different meteorite falls. The Marquis’ mineral collection was substantial, and his meteorite collection was said to be the second largest private collection in the world. In the years following the Mauroy bequest, the collection has grown slowly by gifts and trades. Today, the meteorite collection has over 1,100 specimens representing over 500 different falls totaling over 150 kg of extraterrestrial material. The Vatican no longer trades its meteorites from its exceptional collection.

A 2.1 gram Ensisheim specimen with hand written label by the Marquis de Mauroy. This specimen was part of the Vatican meteorite collection and listed in multiple Vatican meteorite collection catalogues.

Years ago, I was fortunate to communicate with Brother Guy Consolmagno, the director of the Vatican Observatory and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. Brother Guy was also the curator of the Vatican meteorite collection at the time I contacted him in January 2015. He confirmed that my Ensisheim specimen was part of the Vatican meteorite collection. The specimen was referenced in mulitiple Vatican catalogues. When I contacted Brother Guy years later, he informed me that he was no longer the curator for the meteorite collection. The new curator was Brother Robert Macke.

What is also cool is that this is an iconic Ensisheim meteorite specimen. Ensisheim, fell on November 7, 1492, near the town of Ensisheim, in the same year that Columbus discovered America. Ensisheim is one of the oldest recorded falls, but not the oldest. That distinction belongs to the Japanese meteorite witness fall – Nogato – May 19, 861. Residents of the town and nearby farms began to take pieces off the visitor from space, as souvenirs. King Maximilian ordered it to be preserved in the church at Ensisheim. Today, all but 56 kg (123 pounds) of the original 127 kg (280 pounds) rock remain. Ensisheim is the oldest recorded fall in Europe at a time when it was not believed that rocks fell from the sky.