Joined by faculty members Dr. An Nguyen and Mr. Tony Smaldone, four CCHS students: Kaelynn Jackson '25, Grace Samuels '25 , Kyle Aquino '25 and Brad Porter '25 were honored guests at this workshop at the University of Pennsylvania.
Science as a Path to Wonder: From the Darkness of Space to the Light of Christ, included a Gold Mass for Catholic scientists at St. Agatha-St. James Church celebrated by Penn alumnus Msgr. Michael Magee.
Br. Cassian Iozzo, O.P., a Dominican friar and PhD in Astrophysics from Cornell delivered the keynote lecture on Catholicism and Astrophysics with Br. Augustine Buckner, O.P. offering theological commentary and reflections.
Br. Cassian then performed a series of experiments with the help of the students and teachers to illustrate some of his points from the keynote lecture.
The workshop also featured a breakout discussions and a panel discussion featuring Prof. Michelle Francl (Bryn Mawr), Prof. Michael Vogeley (Drexel), Br. Cassian and Br. Augustine.
"There is an ever present belief in the culture that the Catholic Church and science are in opposition with each other. Nothing can be further from the truth. All one has to do is look throughout history, including up to the present day, to see that the Church has always been a key supporter, if not a leader, in the development of science and mathematics (in fact the Big Bang theory was formed by Georges Lemaitre, a Belgian cosmologist and Catholic Priest)," shared Mr. Smaldone.
"By the grace given to us by God, science is a means to reveal the mysteries of God and His creation. This is one way God reveals Himself to us and His Truth and the wonder of it all. The Church most certainly understands this. Whether one is staring into the vastness of space, looking at a molecular structure, observing how an object behaves under certain forces, or solving a mathematical equation, one cannot marvel at the hand of God in all this. Science is indeed a path to wonder, God's wonder. This workshop carried this theme excellently throughout the day."
"Brother Augustine (who has a Ph.D. in astrophysics and who is now studying for the priesthood) did several experiments captivating the students, what a connection between faith and science it was for the students to see a Brother, fully dressed in religious garb, stick his bare hand into liquid nitrogen, a cryogenic liquid! Perhaps most meaningful for all were the small group discussions. Using a set of questions, the students, and teachers separately, shared their thoughts on faith and science and explored the wonder of it all. I found these discussions to be most enlightening as it provided the rare opportunity to discuss these questions with chemistry, biology, science, and mathematics with peers who are like-minded."
CCHS Director of STEM, Dr. An Nguyen also shared the incredible impact this event had on her: "I didn't really know what to expect from this workshop, but as a Catholic science teacher, I'm always curious about how others address the apparent divide between faith and science. Right from the start, science was embraced as a part of understanding faith during mass. It was really nice to be in a faith-filled environment where scientific words weren't taboo--in fact, they were embraced. As discussed in the book Thomistic Evolution, faith and reason are the two wings of the human spirit, and the two don't need to be in opposition with one another."
"In the first minutes of the keynote, Brother Cassian and Brother Augustine used precise words (angles, axis of symmetry, intersections) to point out observations about a painting, much like how we're taught to make observations in the science lab. These Brothers with advanced degrees in science found faith as the only satisfying answer to their many questions: beyond the limitations of what science can answer lies the wonder and awe only faith can describe. I was in the presence of like-minded people, and this was further made clear when we broke into small groups to discuss the talks. The students met with other students; the teachers met with other teachers. As teachers, we are challenged to give students the opportunity to experience the wonder that science can ignite, the same sense of child-like wonder God calls us to look for in everyday life."
Dr. Nguyen also noted the incredible relationship between faith and science that was made clear by the presenters:
"Many people create a divide between faith and science early on, whether it's because a figure of religious authority demanded that they follow rules without question, because a science teacher failed to explain how evolution and the opening chapter of Genesis can coexist, or something like that. But in this environment, the speakers ignored that artificial barrier and talked as if faith and science are in harmony. This gave everyone, especially our students, a glimpse of what it looks like when you don't deny those parts of yourself but instead, see science as a way to know God better. Also, when teachers shared their struggles with how hard it is to get students those 'wonder' moments, I think about how CCHS' adoption of the STEM mentality has helped so much in this area."
Pictured below, Dr. Nguyen's sketchnotes on the keynote address:
