Overview
- On July 3 the Vatican published the “Mass for the care of creation” rite, adding it to its catalog of liturgies for specific needs.
- Leo XIV paused his two-week Castel Gandolfo holiday to preside over the outdoor ceremony, underscoring his priority on environmental stewardship.
- He explicitly identified “climate changes provoked by human activity” as the root of ecological harm affecting the poor and marginalized.
- During the service at the Vatican’s new ecological educational center, the liturgy included a prayer for those killed in recent Texas flash floods.
- The green Mass extends Pope Francis’s environmental legacy as the Vatican advances carbon-neutral projects such as a planned solar farm and educational initiatives.