Pontifical Academy of Science

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences was founded in 1936 under its current name by Pope Pius XI and is placed under the protection of the reigning Supreme Pontiff (the current Pope). Its aim is to promote the progress of the mathematical, physical and natural sciences and the study of related epistemological problems. The Academy has its origins in the Accademia dei Lincei ("Academy of Lynxes") established in Rome in 1603, under Pope Clement VIII by the learned Roman Prince, Federico Cesi (1585-1630) who was a young botanist and naturalist, and which claimed Galileo Galilei as its president. The current president is the physicist Nicola Cabibbo. The Academy is headquartered in the Casina Pio IV at the heart of the Vatican Gardens.
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