The IAU names asteroid (798737) after Saint Faustina Kowalska, joining honored church figures in the growing celestial map between Mars and Jupiter.
Newsroom (13/01/2026 Gaudium Press )When scientists turn their telescopes to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, they are not just mapping stones adrift in space—they are also inscribing human stories across the heavens. The International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Working Group on the Naming of Small Celestial Bodies has announced a new constellation of honorees, with the latest bulletin (January 2026) bestowing one of its most spiritually charged tributes yet: the naming of asteroid (798737) Faustina after Saint Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun and mystic whose visions inspired the global Divine Mercy devotion.
For astronomy, it marks another step in the detailed charting of millions of minor celestial bodies orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. For the faithful, it represents a gesture of cosmic symbolism—one of the Church’s most significant modern saints now forever linked to the stars.
From Visions to the Heavens
Saint Faustina (1905–1938), canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000, is best known as the visionary behind the image of Divine Mercy, depicted with rays of red and white light emanating from Christ’s heart. This now-iconic representation, and her advocacy for Divine Mercy Sunday—celebrated each year on the second Sunday of Easter—have shaped devotion for millions around the world. Her feast day, added to the Roman General Calendar in 2020, falls on October 5th.
The decision to honor Faustina mirrors a recent naming of an asteroid after her Jesuit confessor, Józef Andrász, last year. Together, their celestial names serve as a quiet dialogue between faith and science—a theme that appears repeatedly in the IAU’s expanding list of honorees.
A Celestial Community of Church Figures
Faustina is far from alone in this galactic honor roll. The IAU also named three other religious figures in its latest round of designations. They include Saint Ursula Ledóchowska (798772 Ledochowska), the Polish founder of the Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a canonized saint since 2003; Jesuit scholar García Alabiano (763533 Alabiano), a 16th-century theology professor who served as rector of Vilnius University; and Christoforus Bayu Risanto (752403 Bayurisanto), a contemporary Jesuit meteorologist whose research enhances weather prediction in regions with limited data.
Also acknowledged is Matteo Galaverni (591000 Galaverni), an Italian diocesan priest and physicist born in 1981 who contributes to the frontier of theoretical cosmology. His inclusion further illustrates the enduring intersection between clerical life and scientific inquiry—a pairing that continues to define much of the Church’s quiet relationship with modern astronomy.
Jesuits at the Forefront of the Night Sky
Astronomical naming records show a clear pattern: the Jesuits dominate celestial recognition. With roughly fifty named asteroids, they comprise the largest single group of religious honorees. In 2025 alone, seven new Jesuit names were added—testament to centuries of engagement with scientific exploration, from early observatories to contemporary astrophysical research.
By contrast, far fewer women have been immortalized in asteroid names. With Faustina and Ledóchowska now joining the list, a small but meaningful shift is underway. Their inclusion follows the 2025 recognition of several early 20th-century nuns who contributed to the painstaking analysis of stellar charts, their patience and precision laying vital groundwork for modern astronomy.
How an Asteroid Gets Its Name
Behind every named asteroid lies an intricate process. When an observer detects a new celestial body across two consecutive nights, the observation is logged with the IAU’s Minor Planet Centre, receiving a provisional identification number. Astronomers then cross-check prior unconfirmed sightings to prevent duplication. Once orbital data confirms the object’s path, it earns a permanent numerical designation.
The privilege of naming belongs not to the initial discoverer, but to the researcher who contributes the essential orbital data. Proposed names pass through the IAU’s Minor Planets Naming Working Group, which upholds a balance of creativity, relevance, and decorum before officially publishing the designation.
Faith and Science in the Firmament
The IAU’s expanding celestial catalogue reads like a chronicle of human aspiration—the blending of scientific rigor with the deep cultural, artistic, and spiritual impulses that shape humanity’s view of the cosmos. For every asteroid numbered and named, there lies a story of observation, patience, and discovery.
Now, with Saint Faustina Kowalska’s name traveling silently through the asteroid belt, that story gains another dimension—one in which devotion finds expression not in paint, prayer, or song, but in orbit, turning perpetually beneath the infinite gaze of the heavens.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from katholisch.de
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