ARCHIVES: SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

BENEDICTINES-SCIENCE-MATHEMATICS: Pope Francis appointed Fabiola Gianotti, the director-general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences two months ago. Gianotti, an Italian experimental particle physicist, is the first female director-general of CERN, which operates the world’s largest particle accelerator at its laboratory on the border between France and Switzerland. Gianotti is a scientist today because she said she was inspired by her early Catholic high school teachers and science education. Most people in the field of science also know the other towering Catholic religious figures of Copernicus, Galileo, Mendel, Lemaitre, Grimaldi, Steno, Jaki, and many others, but few realize that it was their early scientific education (many being from Benedictine teachers!) that inspired them. As the 12th century canon Hugh of St. Victor often wrote, we need not fear scientific inquiry and should even support and promote it to the fullest because “Nature is a book written by the hand of God" and “All nature expresses God!” Even today the Jesuit-administered Vatican Observatory and Pontifical Academy of Sciences sponsors an annual summer internship where high school students from around the world gather in Rome to immerse themselves even deeper into scientific research. One component of our present Subiaco Capital Campaign has been the extensive renovation of Alumni Hall into a center of scientific excellency. STEAM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) has been an integral component of Benedictine monastic education for over a thousand years. So, here are just a few photos from our Subiaco archives looking at how STEAM will continue to be an integral component to our Benedictine and Subiaco education. A big note of thanks to all those who continue to support us, our young men, and our formation of tomorrow’s scientists and mathematicians!