ROME (AP) 鈥 Pope Leo XIV celebrated on Wednesday what has been dubbed the first 鈥済reen鈥 papal Mass, using a new set of prayers imploring care for God鈥檚 creation in a sign he intends to emphasize environmental stewardship and climate justice for the world鈥檚 most vulnerable people.
The Mass, in the gardens of the Vatican鈥檚 new ecological educational center at the papal summer estate in Castel Gandolfo, indicated a strong line of ecological continuity with , who made environmental protection a hallmark of his pontificate.
The private Mass was celebrated for the Laudato Si center, named for in which the first pope from the Global South blasted the way wealthy countries and multinational corporations had exploited the Earth and its most vulnerable people for profit.
Leo approved the new Mass formula 鈥渇or the care of creation,鈥 directing it to be added to the list of 49 Masses that have been developed over centuries for a specific need or occasion. Officials said it was crafted in response to requests stemming from Francis鈥 encyclical, which has and foundation to educate, advocate and sensitize the world to the biblically mandated call to care for nature.
Leo, history鈥檚 first American pope, has indicated he intends to further
A longtime missionary in Peru, Leo experienced firsthand the effects of climate change on vulnerable communities and has already spoken out about the need for climate justice for Indigenous peoples, in particular. In a message for the church鈥檚 annual day of prayer for creation, Leo blasted the 鈥渋njustice, violations of international law and the rights of peoples, grave inequalities and the greed that fuels them are spawning deforestation, pollution and the loss of biodiversity."
He made no equivocations about what or who was to blame, identifying 鈥渃limate change provoked by human activity.鈥
鈥淎s yet, we seem incapable of recognizing that the destruction of nature does not affect everyone in the same way. When justice and peace are trampled underfoot, those who are most hurt are the poor, the marginalized and the excluded,鈥 he wrote in the message, released last week.
Leo celebrated the Mass during the first days of his vacation at Castel Gandolfo, a hilltop town overlooking Lake Alban in the cool hills south of Rome. He arrived on Sunday and will spend an initial two weeks there before returning to the Vatican and then heading back in August.
In another sign of his environmental commitment, Leo has indicated he plans to execute one of Francis鈥 most important ecological legacies: The development of a 430-hectare (1063-acre) field in northern Rome into a that would generate enough electricity to meet the Vatican鈥檚 needs and thus make Vatican City the world鈥檚 first carbon-neutral state.
The development would require an investment of just under 100 million euros (about $117 million), officials say, and needs the approval of the Italian parliament since the territory enjoys extraterritorial status that needs to be extended.
Last year, Francis tasked a commission of Vatican officials with developing the Santa Maria di Galeria site, which was long the source of controversy because of electromagnetic waves emitted by Vatican Radio towers there.
Leo visited the site in June and called it a 鈥渨onderful opportunity.鈥 He told RAI state television that the creation of such a farm would 鈥渟ets a very important example: we are all aware of the effects of climate change, and we really need to take care of the whole of creation, as Pope Francis has taught so clearly.鈥
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
