He sees it as a multifaceted mission: convincing the world that faith and science coexist and complement each other; dispelling the notion that the church has sought to muzzle scientific advancement, perpetuated by some high-profile historic cases like the travails of Galileo and Giordano Bruno at the hands of the Inquisition; and being part of the conversation within the global scientific community.

“We have to do the science, otherwise there is no point to it,” Brother Consolmagno said. “If we didn’t do science then all the P.R. work we do would be pointless, it would be empty.”

When it comes to science, the Vatican — supporters say — is a victim of historical fake news.

How many people know that the Vatican built its first observatory in the 16th century to study astronomy for the reform of the Gregorian calendar? Or that a 19th century Jesuit priest, Angelo Secchi, is considered a pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy, “the beginning of astrophysics,” as Brother Consolmagno said? Or that 90 years ago a Belgian priest, Georges Lemaître, put forth a theory on the expanding universe that became what is known today as the Big Bang?

The observatory has a unique advantage. The Vatican’s unconditional support of the institute means it is able to engage in long-term astronomical research, freed from the constraints of goal-oriented funding and grants.

“The work we do here can take 10 or even 20 years before it bears fruit and the Vatican is happy to bear it,” Brother Consolmagno said. “It means we can do the kind of useful but not very glamorous work that the rest of the field needs but that no one can afford to do.” For example, measuring the physical properties of meteorites, data that is widely used, “but will never win a Nobel Prize,” he said.