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Pope Leo XIV Opens Borgo Laudato Si’ Eco Center, Unveils Chicago-Led Restaurant Plan

The Vatican casts the site as a working model of Laudato Si’ that links sustainable agriculture to job training for vulnerable groups.

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The centre was launched by Pope Leo's predecessor, Francis, in 2023
The Rev. Manuel Dorantes walks the grounds of Borgo Laudato Si’ on May 20, 2025, outside Rome. Dorantes moved from serving in Chicago to Italy after being appointed by Pope Francis as the administrative management director of the Laudato Si’ Center for Higher Education in 2024. The 165-acre property next to the pope’s summer home, Castel Gandolfo, includes historic gardens, monuments and new areas for organic farming and education. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The Vatican-run centre near Rome focuses on sustainability

Overview

  • Pope Leo XIV inaugurated the Borgo Laudato Si’ at Castel Gandolfo, presenting an operational campus for environmental education, farming and spirituality.
  • Chicago chef Art Smith and restaurateur Phil Stefani were tapped to develop the estate’s only restaurant and catering operation, slated to open in spring 2026 with Italian fare and Chicago and Peruvian influences.
  • The project targets zero waste through solar power, a plastics ban, recycling and composting, AI-guided irrigation, rainwater harvesting and wastewater treatment and reuse.
  • An on-site vocational school is designed to train refugees, victims of domestic violence, recovering addicts and rehabilitated prisoners in gardening, winemaking and olive harvesting, with product sales reinvested in the center.
  • Officials cited multiple partners, including Intesa Sanpaolo, Deloitte, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and universities, but declined to disclose detailed financing, and reports differ on the site’s size.