- 09 July, 2025
Vatican City, July 9, 2025 : Pope Leo XIV has celebrated the first-ever Mass for the Care of Creation at the Laudato Si’ Village in Castel Gandolfo, urging Christians to embrace their mission of promoting peace and reconciliation across the world and all of creation.
The Mass, introducing a new formulary in the Roman Missal, took place at the Papal summer residence near Rome and was attended by staff of the Laudato Si’ Village, an educational centre on the grounds.
Speaking off-the-cuff at the start of his homily, Pope Leo described the setting as a “natural cathedral,” reflecting on the beauty of worshipping surrounded by nature. He noted the design of the Laudato Si’ Village—with an altar at the front and a nearby water basin—echoes ancient Christian churches, where baptismal fonts near the entrance symbolised purification from sin and weakness.
The Pope lamented the growing number of natural disasters impacting people globally, many of which he said are “often caused—at least in part—by human excess and our way of life.”
“We must also pray for the conversion of many people, both inside and outside the Church, who still do not recognise the urgency of caring for our common home,” he said.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, concelebrated the Mass alongside the Pope.
In his prepared homily, Pope Leo contrasted the tranquil atmosphere of the Laudato Si’ Village with the crises of global warming and armed conflicts afflicting the world.
“Yet, at the heart of the Jubilee we confess: there is hope!” he declared. “We have encountered it in Jesus, the Saviour of the world. He still, sovereignly, calms the storm.”
Reflecting on Jesus calming the storm on the sea, the Pope highlighted how many of Jesus’ parables draw upon nature and its rhythms. In rebuking the wind and waves, Jesus “reveals His power of life and salvation, which towers over those forces before which creatures are lost.”
He emphasised that Christians are entrusted with caring for creation, so they might bring peace and reconciliation to a troubled world.
“We hear the cry of the earth and of the poor,” Pope Leo said. “For that cry has reached the heart of God. Our indignation is His indignation; our work is His work.”
He urged the Church to speak truth to nations, transforming evil into good and greed into communion, affirming the Church’s witness to the “indestructible covenant between Creator and creatures.”
Drawing on St. Francis of Assisi’s love for all creation, Pope Leo said only a “contemplative gaze” can repair humanity’s fractured relationship with nature, God, and one another.
Pope Francis, he noted, intended the Laudato Si’ Village to be a “laboratory” for harmony with creation and innovative environmental solutions.
Concluding, Pope Leo called Christians to spread harmony, quoting St. Augustine: “O Lord, your works praise you so that we may love you, and we love you so that your works may praise you.”
Courtesy: Vatican News
Download Catholic Connect App for Daily News Updates:
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.catholic.connect
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/catholic-connect/id6466264667
© 2025 CATHOLIC CONNECT POWERED BY ATCONLINE LLP
