Italian Physicist Antonino Zichichi, Key Figure in John Paul II’s Dialogue With Science, Dies at 96

February 10, 2026 World News

VINCENZO PINTO
Italian physicist Antonino Zichichi (c) holds a Bible he just received from Pope Francis (l) as Italian football midfielder Nicolò Zaniolo (r) waits to receive his Bible during a Sunday of the Word of God Mass on Jan. 26, 2020, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

In prophetic words for today’s AI age, in 2014, he urged the Church and the political world to remember that human beings may perish by misusing technology, but never by discovering the truth — an echo of John Paul II’s trust in the compatibility of genuine science and Christian hope.

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