On the day Pope Francis died, the Vatican’s astronomer gave a lecture on “faith and science” at Central Methodist University in Fayette. Brother Guy Consolmagno – a fellow Jesuit – spoke to Missourinet about his leader’s legacy.

“Among all of the other accomplishments he had, he was a great theologian,” Consolmagno said. “He was actually a scientist. He was a very, very clever politician and someone who really knew how to run a big organization.”

Beyond that, he said Pope Francis was a pastor to everyone.

“He was someone who saw people where they were, all the flaws and all the problems that all of us have, and he loved them,” Consolmagno said. “He had that marvelous phrase, if you’re going to be a shepherd, you better smell like the sheep.”

He also explained the importance of the Vatican observatory.

“The Vatican actually pays one half of 1% of the Vatican City state’s budget, which is the same fraction that NASA gets to doing regular, straightforward science, whether it’s observing variable stars or looking at asteroids or measuring meteorite physical properties, or doing mathematics of the Big Bang,” he said. “All of these things are being done by guys at the Vatican Observatory.”

The Jesuit brother delivered the annual Perry lecture at Central Methodist University and visited its Morrison Observatory.