
By Devin Watkins
Just a few days after beginning his summer holidays in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first Mass for the Care of Creation,” a new formulary of the Roman Missal.
The Mass took place at the Laudato Si’ Village, an educational center located in the Papal summer residence near Rome, and was attended by the center’s staff.
In off-the-cuff remarks at the start of his homily, the Holy Father said the Mass was being celebrated surrounded by beauty in “a kind of ‘natural’ cathedral.”
He noted that the layout of the Laudato Si’ Village, which has an altar in the front and a water basin nearby, recalls the ancient Christian churches, which placed the baptismal font near the entrance to symbolize that Christians have passed through water to be cleansed of our sins and weaknesses.
Pope Leo lamented the many natural disasters that afflict people around the world, which 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 recognize the urgency of caring for our common home,” he said.