Pope Francis has declared that the theory of evolution and the Big Bang are real, while also saying God is not “a magician with a magic wand”.

The Pontiff made the remarks when addressing the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican.

Francis told his audience that there was no need to believe scientific theories are incompatible with the religious belief in a higher power as creator. Francis in fact declared that the belief in a creator “requires” belief in scientific theories relating to the earth’s creation.

“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” he said.

“He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfilment.

“The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it.

“Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve,” he added.

While the stance of the church – and in particular Francis’s predecessor, Pope Benedict – seems generally at odds with these ideas, there have long been supporters within the Catholic church of the idea of ‘theistic evolution’.

In 2006 an article in the Vatican newspaper insisted that intelligent design should not be taught as scientific theory in schools and universities.