Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini 1897-1978) was elected pope. As the assistant general of the Italian Catholic University Federation, he dedicated many years of pastoral work in the university setting and in evangelizing the world of culture, following, in particular, the developments of personalism and French neo-Thomism. During his pontificate, he also paid particular attention to various philosophical and theological topics and their relationship with science. In the early morning hours of July 21, 1969, a few minutes after the lunar module Eagle touched down on the moon’s soil, Pope Paul VI sent his congratulations via radio to the astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. On October 16 of the same year, after the successful conclusion of the Apollo XI mission in which Armstrong and then Aldrin first walked on the moon, Paul VI held a private audience with the three astronauts. He told them of his admiration for their courage and for the spirit of peace and service to humanity in which they had accomplished their mission; he said that his prayers and the prayers of the entire Church had gone with them, and with all those who had contributed to the enterprise.