Recent Directors

The most recent directors of the Vatican Observatory have all come from the Americas. They include (from bottom) Fr. George Coyne SJ, from Baltimore, Maryland, USA, appointed by Pope John I in 1978 who served until 2006; Fr. José Funes SJ, from Cordoba, Argentina, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006, who served until 2015; and Br. Guy Consolmagno SJ, from Detroit, Michigan, USA, appointed by Pope Francis in 2015.