Pope Francis upheld evolution and the Big Bang Theory as legitimate concepts compatible with a belief in God in a recent speech.

Addressing the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Monday, Francis said that the scientific theories are not in opposition to creationism, but illustrate that we are wonderfully made by God.

"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," the Pope 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."

Italy's National Institute for Astrophysics President Giovanni Bignami said that Pope Francis' comments hold great significance.

"We are the direct descendents from the Big Bang that created the universe," he told Italian news agency Adnkronos. "Evolution came from creation."

Francis' statements are a step further from those of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's leadership, who endorsed intelligent design.

Cardinal Schoenborn, a close associate of Benedict XVI, wrote in a 2005 article that "evolution in the sense of common ancestry might be true, but evolution in the neo-Darwinian sense – an unguided, unplanned process – is not."

Rather than criticise Benedict XVI, Pope Francis celebrated his contributions to the papacy.

"No one could ever say of him that study and science made him and his love for God and his neighbour wither," Francis said as he unveiled a bronze bust of Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican Gardens.

"On the contrary, knowledge, wisdom and prayer enlarged his heart and his spirit. Let us thank God for the gift that he gave the church and the world with the existence and the pontificate of Pope Benedict."