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A Rhodes University Professor who had received a communique from Pope Francis said she deleted the correspondence believing it to be spam.
However, Distinguished Professor Tebello Nyokong, realised later that it was “legit” when she received a call enquiring if she had received the correspondence.
Rhodes University said in a statement that Professor Nyokong, who is the Director of the Institute for Nanotechnology Innovation, had been appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
“Who receives an email from the Pope? I am not even catholic, so this came as a surprise for me,” she said.
She will travel to the Vatican next year where Pope Francis would “bestow the insignia of her appointment during a Solemn Pontifical Audience at the next Plenary Session in October 2024.”
According to the Rhodes University statement, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences was founded in 1603, and aims to promote “the progress of mathematical, physical, and natural sciences and the study of epistemological problems relating thereto.”
“The Academy chooses candidates for a seat in the Academy based on their eminent original scientific studies and their acknowledged moral personality, without any ethnic or religious discrimination. They are nominated for life by the sovereign act of the Pope.”
Vice-Chancellor, Dr Sizwe Mabizela, said the institution was "incredibly proud" of Professor Nyokong, adding that "her many years of ground-breaking intellectual contribution, hard work, dedication, and commitment to this research-intensive University" did not go unnoticed.
Rhodes said Professor Nyokong is researching a new cancer diagnosis and treatment methodology called photo-dynamic therapy, which is an alternative to chemotherapy.
“The new therapy is based on using a dye, which is used to colour blue denim clothing, and which is inert and harmless by itself but can be activated by exposure to a red laser beam.”
She has five honorary degrees and is “celebrated worldwide for the outstanding work she and her team continue to do.”
“It’s a great honour indeed. I will be travelling to the Vatican in 2024. How does the Pope even know me? I do not even know, but it means there is something holy about the work my students and I are doing,” said Professor Nyokong.
