But now the Vatican and alien life forms have something to pray about - the Catholic church says we are "extraterrestial brothers" reports Catholic News.

According to the report: "Jesuit Father Jose Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, said Christians should consider alien life as an "extraterrestrial brother" and a part of God's creation."

In an interview in the Vatican newspaper, Funes states that it's difficult to overlook the fact that intelligent life might exist elsewhere, even if in forms that we don't recognize.

"This is not in contrast with the faith, because we cannot place limits on the creative freedom of God," says the forward-looking director of the Vatican Observatory.

He believes that astronomy is a science that can bring people closer to God, and that a loving God would likely offer aliens the same redemption and mercy as he bestows upon humankind.

Many feel that if the existence of alien life is established, new evidence will prompt questions as to the origin of life. But the good father, like many, says the Big Bang theory is likely the closest to the truth as to what happened.

An excerpt from the book Aliens In The Bible says: "The terms 'Angels', 'Fallen Angels', 'Demons', 'Hosts of Heaven', 'Stars', 'Creatures', 'Sons of God', and the 'Nephilim', also known as 'Rapha', or 'Rephaim', all three of which refer to giants, all must be defined. Within these terms lies the key to unlocking the mystery of what modern society calls aliens."

The subject has been a matter of endless speculation by Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and will likely never be answered unless an alien of some form or another actually introduces themselves to society.

But the Vatican may not be wrong about the existence of aliens, as our own NASA space shuttle cameras caught the images of 'Unidentified Flying Objects' or UFOs journeying to and fro throughout the earth's atmosphere. See for yourself:

Interview with Jose Funes in 2008