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Pope Speaks With Lone Surviving Apollo 11 Astronaut on Anniversary of First Moon Landing

July 21, 2025

Pope Leo XIV spoke with Apollo 11 astronaut and moonwalker Buzz Aldrin on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the first time in history men landed and walked on the moon, which took place on July 20, 1969. An historic American feat that has not been matched since in 56 years.

Buzz Aldrin on the moon with the American flag, photo by Neil Armstrong/NASA via Getty Images.

Leo is the first American pope while Aldrin is the last survivor of the the three man Apollo 11 crew that triumphantly went to the moon and back. Aldrin and Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in a small spacecraft and walked for a few hours on the moon’s surface, collecting samples, planting an American flag and speaking via phone/radio hookup with President Richard Nixon at the White House, while Michael Collins stayed aboard the command module circling the moon until the two returned and docked for the flight back to earth.

Armstrong, who died in 2012 at age 82, was first to exit the lunar lander and walk on the moon, uttering the now famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Collins passed away in 2021 at age 90. Aldrin is 95.

From Pope Leo’s X account, “This evening, 56 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, I spoke with the astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Together we shared the memory of a historic feat, a testimony to human ingenuity, and we reflected on the mystery and greatness of Creation.”

Vatican News Service reported on the apparent video phone call between the Pope and Aldrin with Aldrin’s wife, Anca Faur, with a screen image (translated):

56 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, #PapaLeoneXIV spoke this evening with astronaut Buzz Aldrin. With him, he shared the memory of a historic achievement, a testament to human ingenuity.

With the words of Psalm 8, they meditated together on the mystery of Creation, its greatness, and its fragility. Before the end of the phone call, the #Papa blessed the astronaut, his family, and his colleagues @HolySeePress

Aldrin later posted, “Anca and I were grateful and touched to receive the highest blessing today, from His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV on the 56th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. What an honor! We prayed for good health, long life, and prosperity for all humankind. #PopeLeoXIV”

Earlier Sunday, Aldrin posted about the moon landing:

July 20, 1969. “Contact light, engine stop.” The Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle touched down at Tranquility Base on the Moon.

A few hours later, Neil Armstrong and I stepped foot on the Moon, with Michael Collins orbiting close-by.

An achievement resulting from years of incalculable effort, commitment, and team work.

We all did our part to see President Kennedy’s words become reality: “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others too.”

I couldn’t be prouder to have completed this mission with the hundreds of thousands of people that helped get us to the moon and back home. God bless the USA and all of humankind.

Video clip of CBS News coverage with Walter Cronkite:

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