Vatican News
On Saturday, Jul 11, Pope Leo will have lunch with around 200 poor people at Borgo Laudato si’, located within the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo.
The initiative, called Lunch with the Pope, will begin with the celebration of the Eucharist using the Liturgy for the Care of Creation, followed by a moment of welcome and refreshments, a guided visit through Borgo Laudato si’, and a shared meal with the Holy Father.
The gathering builds on an initiative first launched in August 2025, when Pope Leo shared lunch with poor people from the Diocese of Albano, in Italy. That encounter has since become an annual event promoted by the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education, which oversees the development of the Borgo Laudato si’ project.
Each year, a different diocese will be invited to bring together poor people, refugees, migrants, and others experiencing difficiluties, offering them a day immersed in the beauty of creation and an opportunity to meet the Pope.
This year’s event is being organised jointly by the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education, the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, and the Diocese of Rome, bringing together the Church institutions and organisations that accompany vulnerable people across the Italian capital.
One mission
Cardinal Fabio Baggio, Director General of the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education, said Borgo Laudato si’ was created to demonstrate that “the care of creation and the care of the human person are one and the same mission.”
He described the initiative as another step in Pope Leo’s outreach to those living on the social peripheries, noting that the encounter reaffirms the Church’s vocation to be present wherever human dignity calls for “listening, closeness, and hope.”
Echoing that message, Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, said the Pope’s choice highlights that authentic charity is expressed through “closeness, encounter, and sharing.”
“When the Church places the most vulnerable people at the centre,” he said, “it makes the Gospel visible and bears witness that no one is on the margins of God’s heart.”
Cardinal Baldassare Reina, the Pope’s Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome, explained that those invited are people who are accompanied daily by parishes, Caritas, and numerous ecclesial and social organisations throughout the city.
“The encounter with the Holy Father restores centrality to those who too often remain on the margins,” he said, adding that it is also a call for the entire Christian community to embrace the responsibility of welcome.
The organisers said the initiative reflects the mission of Borgo Laudato si’, where care for creation, human development and Christian formation come together through concrete experiences of encounter, participation and faith.
The event has also been made possible through the support of numerous Catholic charities, parish communities and volunteer organisations serving people experiencing vulnerability across Rome, together with local businesses that have donated breakfast and lunch for the occasion. – Vatican News
