Riccardo Liguori Pope Leone XIV calls for urgent action on the climate crisis, breaking tradition to highlight the environmental challenges facing the world today.
@Canva
Pope Leone XIV has chosen to break the usual summer retreat of popes in Castel Gandolfo to issue a powerful appeal: “We live in a world that is burning, both due to global warming and armed conflicts.” These clear words, spoken on Wednesday, July 9, during a special mass for the care of creation in the gardens of the papal residence, highlight the centrality of environmental issues in the new pontificate.
The Pope, elected on May 8 following the death of Pope Francis, sought to send a concrete signal by anticipating his participation in a celebration of the new Catholic rite dedicated to creation, recently published by the Vatican. The decision to introduce a specific liturgical ritual for the ecological crisis – made public on July 3 – marks a significant step forward in the Church’s commitment to these issues.
From the terrace overlooking Lake Albano, the Pope made an urgent appeal not only to Catholics but to all of humanity: “We must pray for the conversion of many people… who still do not see the urgency of taking care of our common home.” A phrase that echoes the encyclical Laudato si’ of his predecessor, but takes on new weight in light of ongoing extreme climate events, such as the flash floods in Texas, which had already claimed at least 109 victims by the day before the mass.
“Even when this requires the courage to oppose the destructive power of the principles of this world,” Pope Leone XIV stressed, emphasizing how caring for the environment is also a choice of civil disobedience against unsustainable economic and political models.
The Pope’s intervention was neither casual nor symbolic: the decision to interrupt his vacation, which was supposed to last until July 20, was described by Cardinal Michael Czerny – one of the main organizers of the mass – as a clear sign of priority: “By celebrating this Mass … at the beginning of his vacation, Pope Leone is giving a beautiful example of gratitude for God’s great gift and prayer that the human family learns to take care of our common home,” he told Reuters.
The location was no accident. The gardens of Castel Gandolfo – 135 acres (55 hectares) of well-maintained and symbolic greenery, already transformed by Pope Francis into an ecological institute open to the public – became the stage for both a liturgical and political action. A way to continue the Catholic Church’s environmental commitment, which, under Pope Francis, had gained new momentum with explicit support for the Paris Agreement and numerous appeals against climate inaction.
Pope Leone, the first U.S. pontiff, thus inherits not only a spiritual legacy but also an already charted ecological agenda. However, his decision to break his moments of rest to reaffirm the urgency of collective action may signal a more decisive turning point. More than just a declaration of intent, the gesture appears as a political stance in a time when the climate crisis has become a daily reality.
While residents of Castel Gandolfo hope that the Pope’s presence will revive tourism and energize religious celebrations planned for July 13 and 20, one question lingers among the perfectly trimmed hedges of the papal garden: how many more voices must rise before ecological conversion becomes a reality?
