BREAKING Pope Leo XIV at 1st Mass for Care of Creation says "Our mission to protect creation, to bring peace and reconciliation..." FULL TEXT Homily + VIDEO
Pope Leo XIV celebrates the first Mass for the Care of Creation at the Laudato Si’ Village in Castel Gandolfo, and calls on Christians to embrace our mission to bring peace and reconciliation to our world and all creation. During his summer holidays in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV at 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 words at the start of his homily, the Holy Father said the Mass was being celebrated surrounded by beauty in “a kind of ‘natural’ cathedral.”
HOLY MASS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CREATION
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
Borgo Laudato si' (Castel Gandolfo)
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
___________________
On this beautiful day, I would first like to invite everyone, starting with myself, to experience what we are celebrating in the beauty of a cathedral—one might call it a "natural" one—with plants and so many elements of creation that have brought us here to celebrate the Eucharist, which means: giving thanks to the Lord.
There are many reasons in this Eucharist for which we want to thank the Lord: this celebration could be the first with the new formula of the Holy Mass for the care of creation , which has also been an expression of the work of the various Dicasteries in the Vatican.
And I personally thank the many people present here who have worked in this direction for the liturgy. As you know, the liturgy represents life, and you are the life of this Laudato si' Center . I would like to thank you at this moment, on this occasion, for all you do, following the beautiful inspiration of Pope Francis , who has given this small portion, these gardens, these spaces, precisely to continue the mission so important regarding everything we know 10 years after the publication of Laudato si' : the need to care for creation, our common home.
Here it's like in the ancient churches of the first centuries, which had a baptismal font through which one had to pass to enter the church. I wouldn't want to be baptized in this water... but the symbol of passing through the water to be washed clean of our sins, our weaknesses, and thus be able to enter into the great mystery of the Church is something we experience even today. At the beginning of Mass, we prayed for conversion, our conversion. I would like to add that we must pray for the conversion of so many people, inside and outside the Church, who still don't recognize the urgency of caring for our common home.
Many of the natural disasters we still see around the world, almost every day in many places, in many countries, are partly caused by human excesses and their lifestyles. Therefore, we must ask ourselves whether or not we ourselves are experiencing that conversion: how much we need it!
So, having said all this, I also have a homily I had prepared and which I will share. Please bear with me: there are some elements that truly help us continue our reflection this morning, sharing this peaceful, family moment in a world burning, both because of global warming and armed conflicts, which make Pope Francis's message in his encyclicals Laudato si' and Fratelli tutti so timely . We can find ourselves precisely in this Gospel, which we have heard, observing the disciples' fear in the storm, a fear that is shared by a large part of humanity. But in the heart of the Jubilee Year, we confess—and we can say it many times: there is hope! We have encountered it in Jesus. He still calms the storm. His power does not overturn, but creates; it does not destroy, but brings into being, giving new life. And we too ask ourselves: "Who then is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" ( Mt 8:27).
The wonder expressed by this question is the first step that lifts us out of fear. Jesus had lived and prayed around the Sea of Galilee. There he had called his first disciples to their places of life and work. The parables with which he announced the Kingdom of God reveal a profound connection with that land and those waters, with the rhythm of the seasons and the life of its creatures.
The evangelist Matthew describes the storm as an "earthquake" (the word seismos ): Matthew will use the same term for the earthquake at the moment of Jesus' death and at the dawn of his resurrection. Christ rises above this upheaval, standing upright: here the Gospel already allows us to glimpse the Risen One, present in our history upside down. Jesus' rebuke to the wind and the sea manifests his life-giving and saving power, which surpasses those forces before which creatures feel lost.
So, let us return to ask ourselves: "Who then is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" ( Mt 8:27). The hymn from the Letter to the Colossians that we have heard seems to answer precisely this question: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created" ( Col 1:15-16). His disciples, that day, at the mercy of the storm, gripped by fear, could not yet profess this knowledge of Jesus. Today, in the faith that has been passed on to us, we can instead continue: "He is also the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things he might be preeminent" (v. 18). These are words that commit us throughout history, that make us a living body, the body of which Christ is the head. Our mission to protect creation, to bring peace and reconciliation, is his very mission: the mission the Lord has entrusted to us. We hear the cry of the earth, we hear the cry of the poor, because this cry has reached the heart of God. Our indignation is his indignation, our work is his work.
In this regard, the psalmist's song inspires us: "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord over many waters. The voice of the Lord is mighty, the voice of the Lord is powerful" ( Ps 29:3-4). This voice commits the Church to prophecy, even when it demands the boldness to oppose the destructive power of the princes of this world. The indestructible alliance between Creator and creatures, in fact, mobilizes our intelligence and our efforts, so that evil may be turned into good, injustice into justice, greed into communion.
With infinite love, the one God created all things, giving us life: this is why Saint Francis of Assisi calls creatures brother, sister, and mother. Only a contemplative gaze can change our relationship with created things and help us emerge from the ecological crisis caused by the breakdown of relationships with God, with our neighbors, and with the earth, due to sin (cf. Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si' , 66).
Dear brothers and sisters, the Borgo Laudato si' , where we meet, is intended, following Pope Francis's intuition, to be a "laboratory" in which to experience that harmony with creation that brings us healing and reconciliation, developing new and effective ways to protect the nature entrusted to us. I therefore assure you, who are dedicated to realizing this project, of my prayers and encouragement.
The Eucharist we are celebrating gives meaning and sustains our work. As Pope Francis writes, "In the Eucharist, creation finds its greatest elevation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself perceptibly, reaches a marvelous expression when God himself, made man, allows himself to be consumed by his creature. The Lord, at the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. Not from above, but from within, so that in our own world we might encounter him" (Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si' , 236). From this place, therefore, I wish to conclude these thoughts by entrusting to you the words with which St. Augustine, in the final pages of his Confessions , unites created things and man in a cosmic praise: O Lord, "your works praise you so that we love you, and we love you so that your works praise you" (St. Augustine, Confessions , XIII, 33, 48). Let this be the harmony that we spread throughout the world.
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
Borgo Laudato si' (Castel Gandolfo)
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
___________________
On this beautiful day, I would first like to invite everyone, starting with myself, to experience what we are celebrating in the beauty of a cathedral—one might call it a "natural" one—with plants and so many elements of creation that have brought us here to celebrate the Eucharist, which means: giving thanks to the Lord.
There are many reasons in this Eucharist for which we want to thank the Lord: this celebration could be the first with the new formula of the Holy Mass for the care of creation , which has also been an expression of the work of the various Dicasteries in the Vatican.
And I personally thank the many people present here who have worked in this direction for the liturgy. As you know, the liturgy represents life, and you are the life of this Laudato si' Center . I would like to thank you at this moment, on this occasion, for all you do, following the beautiful inspiration of Pope Francis , who has given this small portion, these gardens, these spaces, precisely to continue the mission so important regarding everything we know 10 years after the publication of Laudato si' : the need to care for creation, our common home.
Here it's like in the ancient churches of the first centuries, which had a baptismal font through which one had to pass to enter the church. I wouldn't want to be baptized in this water... but the symbol of passing through the water to be washed clean of our sins, our weaknesses, and thus be able to enter into the great mystery of the Church is something we experience even today. At the beginning of Mass, we prayed for conversion, our conversion. I would like to add that we must pray for the conversion of so many people, inside and outside the Church, who still don't recognize the urgency of caring for our common home.
Many of the natural disasters we still see around the world, almost every day in many places, in many countries, are partly caused by human excesses and their lifestyles. Therefore, we must ask ourselves whether or not we ourselves are experiencing that conversion: how much we need it!
So, having said all this, I also have a homily I had prepared and which I will share. Please bear with me: there are some elements that truly help us continue our reflection this morning, sharing this peaceful, family moment in a world burning, both because of global warming and armed conflicts, which make Pope Francis's message in his encyclicals Laudato si' and Fratelli tutti so timely . We can find ourselves precisely in this Gospel, which we have heard, observing the disciples' fear in the storm, a fear that is shared by a large part of humanity. But in the heart of the Jubilee Year, we confess—and we can say it many times: there is hope! We have encountered it in Jesus. He still calms the storm. His power does not overturn, but creates; it does not destroy, but brings into being, giving new life. And we too ask ourselves: "Who then is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" ( Mt 8:27).
The wonder expressed by this question is the first step that lifts us out of fear. Jesus had lived and prayed around the Sea of Galilee. There he had called his first disciples to their places of life and work. The parables with which he announced the Kingdom of God reveal a profound connection with that land and those waters, with the rhythm of the seasons and the life of its creatures.
The evangelist Matthew describes the storm as an "earthquake" (the word seismos ): Matthew will use the same term for the earthquake at the moment of Jesus' death and at the dawn of his resurrection. Christ rises above this upheaval, standing upright: here the Gospel already allows us to glimpse the Risen One, present in our history upside down. Jesus' rebuke to the wind and the sea manifests his life-giving and saving power, which surpasses those forces before which creatures feel lost.
So, let us return to ask ourselves: "Who then is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" ( Mt 8:27). The hymn from the Letter to the Colossians that we have heard seems to answer precisely this question: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created" ( Col 1:15-16). His disciples, that day, at the mercy of the storm, gripped by fear, could not yet profess this knowledge of Jesus. Today, in the faith that has been passed on to us, we can instead continue: "He is also the head of the body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that in all things he might be preeminent" (v. 18). These are words that commit us throughout history, that make us a living body, the body of which Christ is the head. Our mission to protect creation, to bring peace and reconciliation, is his very mission: the mission the Lord has entrusted to us. We hear the cry of the earth, we hear the cry of the poor, because this cry has reached the heart of God. Our indignation is his indignation, our work is his work.
In this regard, the psalmist's song inspires us: "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord over many waters. The voice of the Lord is mighty, the voice of the Lord is powerful" ( Ps 29:3-4). This voice commits the Church to prophecy, even when it demands the boldness to oppose the destructive power of the princes of this world. The indestructible alliance between Creator and creatures, in fact, mobilizes our intelligence and our efforts, so that evil may be turned into good, injustice into justice, greed into communion.
With infinite love, the one God created all things, giving us life: this is why Saint Francis of Assisi calls creatures brother, sister, and mother. Only a contemplative gaze can change our relationship with created things and help us emerge from the ecological crisis caused by the breakdown of relationships with God, with our neighbors, and with the earth, due to sin (cf. Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si' , 66).
Dear brothers and sisters, the Borgo Laudato si' , where we meet, is intended, following Pope Francis's intuition, to be a "laboratory" in which to experience that harmony with creation that brings us healing and reconciliation, developing new and effective ways to protect the nature entrusted to us. I therefore assure you, who are dedicated to realizing this project, of my prayers and encouragement.
The Eucharist we are celebrating gives meaning and sustains our work. As Pope Francis writes, "In the Eucharist, creation finds its greatest elevation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself perceptibly, reaches a marvelous expression when God himself, made man, allows himself to be consumed by his creature. The Lord, at the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment of matter. Not from above, but from within, so that in our own world we might encounter him" (Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si' , 236). From this place, therefore, I wish to conclude these thoughts by entrusting to you the words with which St. Augustine, in the final pages of his Confessions , unites created things and man in a cosmic praise: O Lord, "your works praise you so that we love you, and we love you so that your works praise you" (St. Augustine, Confessions , XIII, 33, 48). Let this be the harmony that we spread throughout the world.
Comments