Pope Receives Astronauts

September 20, 2011: Pope Benedict XVI received two Italian astronauts, accompanied by members of their crews, in the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo on Monday. The astronauts have had the opportunity to recall to the Holy Father of the historical connection that took place last May with the whole crew of the International Space Station.
Roberto Vittori, Italian Air Force colonel and pilot, and Paolo Nespoli have returned the medal to the Pope, which they carried on the Space Station. Vittori had received the silver medal from the Holy Father, depicting the creation of man painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. The medal has hovered within the station between Vittoria and Nespoli, and now is back in the hands of the Holy Father to remember an important conversation between the head of the Catholic Church and the astronauts in flight to 400 kilometers above the Earth.
The President of the Italian Space Agency, Enrico Saggese, and the Director General of ESA, Jean-Jacques Dordain, who accompanied the astronauts said that they were deeply moved and honored that the Holy Father, has received the international crew of the Station International Space, showing that human spaceflight is the symbol of peace and international cooperation that prepare the future of humanity.