On 7 May, in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Adjunct Scholar Father Michael Heller was awarded the Templeton Prize for his work. He received the following additional awards: Prize of the Prime Minister of the Polish Republic, Honorary Citizen of the City of Tarnow, Honorary Diploma of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Polish Republic, and Prize of the Rector of the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow.

On 6 September, George Coyne, S.J., director emeritus of the Vatican Observatory, was awarded the Gregor Mendel Medal by Villanova University, Philadelphia, for his contributions to the discussion of the religious implications of scientific evolution.

On 3 December, Giuseppe Koch, S.J., Vice-Director of the Observatory for Administration, was honored for his 50 years as a Jesuit with a celebration at Castel Gandolfo.

Guy Consolmagno, S.J., completed his term as chair of the Division of Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. He continues as Secretary of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Division III and past president of IAU Commission 16. He began a new appointment on the Mars Nomenclature Working Subgroup, and his appointment to the Working Group on Planetary System Nomenclature of the IAU was approved.