After the former Italian Pope Leo XIII. they named the asteroidthe Vatican announced on Wednesday. TASR informs about it according to the report of the DPA agency. The asteroid orbits the Sun under the new name Gioacchinopecci after Gioacchino Pecci – Pope Leo XIII, who was the head of the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903.
Leo XIII. he wrote the first Roman Catholic encyclical (a papal letter addressed to all bishops) and is still known as the “Pope of Workers”. The current Pope Leo XIV also called him that. Leo XIII. founded the Vatican Observatory. The asteroid named after him was discovered by Lithuanian astronomer Kazimieras Černis and Vatican Observatory astronomer Richard P. Boyle. In the past, asteroids were also named after Pope Benedict XVI. (Ratzinger) and Pope Gregory XIII.
