Pope Gregory XIII and three Jesuit astronomers have recently been honored with having asteroids named after them.
The new additions include: “562971 Johannhagen,” honoring Austrian Jesuit Father Johann Hagen, who was serving as director of the Georgetown University Observatory when Pope Pius X called him to Rome in 1906 to be the first Jesuit director of the new Vatican Observatory; “551878 Stoeger,” honoring U.S. Jesuit Father Bill Stoeger, a cosmologist and theologian who died in 2014; and “565184 Janusz,” honoring Polish Jesuit Father Robert Janusz, a philosopher and physicist on the staff at the Vatican Observatory. A working group of the International Astronomical Union also approved of the designation of “560974 Ugoboncompagni,” honoring Ugo Boncompagni, who was elected Pope Gregory XIII in 1572. Pope Gregory XIII is likely most famous for his role in creating the Gregorian Calendar, the most widely-used calendar system in the world today.
If you’d like to read more about the individuals the asteroids are named after, the USCCB has published an article here.