Lost TV Interview with the Catholic Priest who Invented the Big Bang Theory Fr. Georges Lemaître

Fr. Georges Lemaitre (1894-1966) was a Professor of Physics at the Catholic University of Leuven and a Roman Catholic priest. He is widely known as being among the firsts to formulate a theory of the Big Bang. He has also independently attributed the observed recession of nearby galaxies to an expanding Universe. In 2018, the International Astronomical Society voted to rename Hubble Law the Hubble–Lemaître Law. Georges Lemaitre is undeniably one of the key physicist of the XXth century and an important figure of the history of astronomy. A video interview of Georges Lemaitre talking about his work is a historical gem. As such, we aim to make this recording as accessible as possible for the astronomy community, and the general public at large. 

"If God supports the galaxies, he acts as God," Lemaître said. "He does not act as a force that would contradict everything. It's not Voltaire's watchmaker who has to wind his clock from time to time, isn't it... [laughs]. There!"

On December 31 2022, the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT), the national public-service broadcaster for the Flemish Community of Belgium, recovered a video recording of a 1964 interview of Georges Lemaître. Up until now, that footage was thought to have been lost. This footage represents a unique insight into the views of the physicist often coined as the ”father of the Big Bang”. The interview was conducted in French and is available online with Flemish subtitles. An English translation of the interview as well as the French transcript for reference was made . 

SEE Full Text English Translation at PDF Source: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2301.07198.pdf - https://www.cnet.com/science/space/lost-footage-reveals-stunning-interview-with-father-of-big-bang/