St. John Bosco Parish

ASSISI, Italy (CNS) -- Soon-to-be St. Carlo Acutis is a fresh "shoot" budding from the 800-year-old spiritual "vine" of Sts. Francis and Clare in Assisi, said the rector of the shrine housing the millennial teenager's tomb.

"Assisi is clearly known for St. Francis and St. Clare, and this explosion of holiness in the 13th century is still incredibly fruitful today," Father Marco Gaballo, rector of the Shrine of the Renunciation, told Catholic News Service in late August.

Pope Leo XIV was scheduled to canonize the teen Sept. 7 at the Vatican, together with Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati of Turin.

Born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, Blessed Acutis spent most of his vacation time in Assisi, where his family owned another home. Just as he was very active in his parish and Jesuit-run high school in Milan, he also dedicated himself to the church community in Assisi, learning about St. Francis and being inspired by the saint's respect for creation and dedication to the poor, according to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints' website.

"Carlo chose to be buried here," in Assisi, because of his strong attraction and connection to St. Francis, Father Gaballo said. 

"This is the novelty of our time," he said. "Carlo represents a shoot budding from this long history of holiness that, after eight centuries, still involves young people and knows how to attract and produce new pathways" to holiness.

Blessed Acutis, who once said everyone is born as a unique original, "but many die as photocopies," was himself a "true disciple of St. Francis. He did not copy him, he was inspired by him," seeking to share the Gospel "in his own way, in the age of the internet, as a teenager," he said.

According to the Vatican office for saints' causes, Blessed Acutis was devoted to Mary, recited the rosary daily, helped the poor and homeless, edited and ran the website of the parish of Santa Maria Segreta in Milan, where he also taught catechism and prepared children for confirmation, and organized the website of the Pontifical Academy "Cultorum Martyrum."

"His holiness seems truly accessible, close to everyone because, after all, he also played on his computer, swam, played sports, went to school, but lived with his heart completely oriented toward Jesus," Father Gaballo said. 

"We have this beautiful message that even a person who decides to choose Christ completely as the only thing in their heart, they then find a full life in real life," whether it be in the 21st century or the Middle Ages when St. Francis lived and "made sacrifices that, I believe, are impossible for others to repeat today," he said.

Blessed Acutis is buried in a room -- now a shrine -- dedicated to remembering St. Francis' "renunciation," when he publicly disrobed and renounced his family's wealth to live in poverty and humble service to God.

Just as the 13th-century saint stripped himself of his earthly possessions, the teen was stripped of his health when he fell ill with leukemia, and he offered his life to God; he died at the age of 15 in 2006.

These two acts of renunciation, made centuries apart, illustrate a core message of the shrine, the priest said, which is that following Jesus happens on a "path of self-denial, diminishing one's ego, selfishness and negative human impulses that destroy humanity, the environment, nature and society."

"When one embraces this renunciation, this difficult path, which is hard at first, then on the other side there is love, which is being clothed in the glory" of God's light, he said. 

The blessed's radical acceptance of God's plan, even if it meant letting go of family, friends and earthly life, provided profound support for one pilgrim visiting the tomb.

Massimo Mennelli, from the parish of St. Joseph the Artisan in San Severo, Italy, was one of the thousands of visitors to Assisi Aug. 21. He told CNS that "this young man's life is a great lesson for us, for us Catholics. He is a great guide."

Mennelli and his wife, Fiorella Sacco, are catechists who prepare parents for their child's baptism, he said. "In every catechesis, we cannot help but give examples from his story, from his life, because I consider Carlo Acutis one of the greatest gifts that the Lord could have given, excuse me," he paused with tears in his eyes, "to humanity in the third millennium."

Mennelli said he gets choked up because Blessed Acutis' life "prepared me for a very difficult family situation" of losing his brother a year and a half ago.

He and his dying brother faced the tragedy "in a truly God-centered way," he said, "thanks to Carlo, who taught us to trust in God. This was a great sign of the Lord for us: we are at peace."

"My brother is now in heaven. I hope he has met Carlo, who gave us this great strength and this great testimony that the Lord loves us and cares for us, and that when we reach his kingdom, we will attain eternal peace," Mennelli said, holding up a handmade doll of the blessed his wife makes with other volunteers at their parish. 

Sacco said they wanted a doll for kids so that instead of "heroes of war, they would have a hero of peace," adding that all the proceeds go to help their parish and charitable initiatives in their town and abroad.

An image of the Eucharist is sewn on top of the doll's red shirt right over his heart, she said, and inside his backpack, there is a small handmade rosary with "15 beads in memory of the 15 years he lived."

About 1 million people visited just the Church of St. Mary Major, where the shrine and Blessed Acutis' tomb are located, in 2024. Those numbers are expected to be much higher in 2025 because of the huge spike in visitors who came to Italy for the Holy Year and especially for his expected canonization in April, the Jubilee of Youth at the end of July and early August, and his actual canonization in September.

WASHINGTON – “Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all share the same message of peace and respect for human life and dignity. This is the foundation for peace,” said Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and asked for people to join the Holy Father in prayer for genuine peace in the Holy Land.

Archbishop Broglio’s full statement follows:

“Recently, in a meeting with the President of Israel, Pope Leo XIV expressed hope that negotiations regarding the war in Gaza will resume, that hostages will be released, and a permanent ceasefire take place to avoid further suffering and death. I ask for people across our country to join the Holy Father in prayer for genuine peace in the Holy Land. All people of goodwill must actively pursue a peace that will ensure the massacre of October 7th and the subsequent destruction and suffering that followed in Gaza will never occur again. It must also include ending the expansion of settlements and ideas of forced deportation. The Palestinian People have a right to autonomy. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all share the same message of peace and respect for human life and dignity. This is the foundation for peace. The parties involved, the Israeli Government, the people of Gaza, and the international community must work to that end. And it begins with an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the restoration of life-saving aid.” 

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Surrounded by formal Italian gardens, ancient Roman ruins and long avenues of lush trees, Pope Leo XIV inaugurated a new "zero environmental impact" complex devoted to promoting Pope Francis' teachings on caring for creation at the papal gardens in Castel Gandolfo.

A newly built circular greenhouse, reminiscent of Bernini's curved colonnade in St. Peter's Square, and two new buildings, all topped with solar panels, make up the heart of Borgo Laudato Si' -- a project dedicated to promoting integral ecology, sustainability and a circular and generative economy. 

Caring for creation "represents a true vocation for every human being, a commitment to be carried out within creation itself, without ever forgetting that we are creatures among creatures and not creators," Pope Leo said in his homily during a prayer service in the greenhouse Sept. 5. The service was attended by employees and their families, members of the Roman Curia, representatives of partner companies and organizations supporting the project, and other special guests.

"Borgo Laudato Si', which we are inaugurating today, is one of the church's initiatives aimed at fulfilling this vocation to be protectors of God's handiwork: a demanding but beautiful and fascinating task, which represents a major aspect of the Christian experience," he said. 

The initiative, which seeks to make concrete the church's teaching about integral ecology, "is a seed of hope that Pope Francis has left us as his legacy," he said, and it represents "a synthesis of extraordinary beauty, where spirituality, nature, history, art, work and technology coexist in harmony."

After the pope blessed the center, Andrea Bocelli and his son, Matteo, sang "Dolce Sentire," which was inspired by St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of Creation. The ecumenical Season of Creation runs from Sept. 1 to Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis.

The Borgo, which means "village" or "hamlet" in Italian, extends over 85 acres of gardens and 50 acres of farmland, and is home to cows, horses, donkeys, chickens and other small animals.

During his two-hour visit, Pope Leo greeted a few of the furry residents, including a white Andalusian horse, named "Sale Rosso" (Italian for "Sal Roja"), that was gifted to him as a reminder of the horses he used to ride to reach rural areas when he was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. Clicking his tongue to greet it, the pope rubbed the horse's muzzle and fed it a small chunk of carrot. 

He also petted a newborn calf named "Domenico" because it was born on Sunday ("Domenica" in Italian) and a brown pure-bred Spanish horse.

The pope arrived at the papal property in Castel Gandolfo, just 15 miles southeast of Rome, in the late afternoon to greet the project's gardeners, farmers, engineers, staff and their families.

He first prayed in the Garden of the Little Madonna, where he had celebrated Mass "for the care of creation" in early July, soon after the Vatican announced that a new formulary of prayers and biblical readings for the Mass would be added to the Roman Missal.

Run by the Vatican's Laudato Si' Center for Higher Education, Borgo Laudato Si' aims to send the message that "ecological conversion is possible and arises from the encounter between faith, responsibility and hope," Cardinal Fabio Baggio, director general of the center and undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, said in his opening remarks. 

"This conversion will enable us to transform reality and build a more just and fraternal world," he said.

The center is open to everyone, organizers said, and it will feature educational programs for students of all ages and from all over the world, and retreats for business leaders desiring to adhere more closely to the Catholic principles of caring for creation and protecting human dignity.

The center currently runs a vocational training program in gardening and agriculture for vulnerable and marginalized individuals, and it plans to sell products produced on the farm to the public, including cheese, olive oil and wine that will carry the label "Laudato Si'."

It also plans to open a restaurant in the spring of 2026 using only locally grown and sourced products. Chicago natives Art Smith, a chef, and Phil Stefani, a restaurant owner, will operate the restaurant and catering services. 

Salesian Sister Alessandra Smerilli, a member of the board of directors of the Laudato Si' Center for Higher Education and secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told reporters Sept. 2 that they want to "generate economic growth and profits, but these profits should not enrich a select few; rather, they should be put back into circulation" at the center to support its programs and workers.

This so-called generative and circular economy also seeks to generate no waste by using all materials responsibly and by protecting the human person from a "throwaway" mentality, she said.

"The activities that will be carried out here have this objective, starting with agriculture, everything we see here in the orchards, catering, everything that can be set up must be based on this, and wants to be a model of this," she said. 

U.S. Father Manuel Dorantes, administrative-management director of the Laudato Si' Center for Higher Education, told reporters Sept. 2, "the message that Pope Francis wanted to send is that if we, the smallest city-state in the world, can do this, what is the potential for other states that are bigger than us, that have more resources than us, and that have wonderful talents and wonderful territory that God has given them?"

"They need to be the protagonist of their own people. And therefore, the pope is now being the protagonist of his own territory to create a model that can inspire people, that a world can be different if we work together," he said.

Borgo Laudato Si': Evangelization through ecology

Pope Leo XIV inaugurated Borgo Laudato Si’ at Castel Gandolfo, the historic papal summer residence, Sept. 5, 2025. (CNS video/Robert Duncan)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Israeli military operations in Gaza continued, Pope Leo XIV met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Vatican.

The meeting Sept. 4 came just a week after Pope Leo appealed again for Israel and Hamas to stop the violence and for Hamas to release the hostages it has held since attacking Israel in October 2023.

With the pope and with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, Herzog discussed "the political and social situation in the Middle East ... where numerous conflicts persist, with particular attention to the tragic situation in Gaza," the Vatican said. 

"A prompt resumption of negotiations was hoped for so that, with openness and courageous decisions, as well as with the support of the international community, it would be possible to secure the release of all hostages, urgently achieve a permanent ceasefire, facilitate the safe entry of humanitarian aid into the most affected areas, and ensure full respect for humanitarian law, as well as for the legitimate aspirations of both peoples," the Vatican said.

The statement echoed what Pope Leo had said Aug. 27 when he called on Israel to ensure the safe entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and full respect for humanitarian law, including full observance of "the duty to protect civilians and the prohibitions against collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force and the forced displacement of populations."

The meeting between the pope and president was preceded by unusual public statements about who initiated the meeting.

Herzog's office announced Sept. 2 that the president "will depart on Thursday morning, for a one-day visit to the Vatican at the invitation of the Pope."

But, saying he was responding to reporters' questions, Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, said, "It is the Holy See's practice to grant requests for an audience with the pope made by heads of state and government; it is not its practice to extend invitations to them." 

An unnamed source in Herzog's office then told the news agency Reuters that the president's meeting originally had been scheduled with Pope Francis but was rescheduled after the pope died in April. The source said the meeting with Pope Leo was arranged in full coordination with the Vatican through diplomatic channels, Reuters reported.

When it announced Herzog's trip, his office had said that during his meetings with the pope and with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, the president planned to discuss "efforts to secure the release of the hostages, the fight against global antisemitism and the safeguarding of Christian communities in the Middle East, alongside discussions on other political matters."

Posting on X after the meeting, Herzog focused on the hostages.

"All leaders of faith and goodwill must stand united in calling for the immediate release of the hostages as the first and essential step toward a better future for the entire region," he wrote.

Herzog said that Pope Leo's "inspiration and leadership in the struggle against hatred and violence and in promoting peace around the world is valued and vital."
 

Pope Leo meets Israeli president

As Israeli military operations in Gaza continued, Pope Leo XIV met Sept. 4 at the Vatican with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Pope Leo signs a BMW motorcycle

Members of the Jesus Bikers -- a motorcycle club from Germany -- along with representatives of Missio Austria, the Pontifical Mission Societies in Austria,  presented Pope Leo XIV with a specially modified BMW R18 motorcycle Sept. 3.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The human longing for love is not a sign of weakness but demonstrates that no one is completely self-sufficient and that salvation comes from letting oneself be loved and assisted by God, Pope Leo XIV said.

"No one can save themselves. Life is 'fulfilled' not when we are strong, but when we learn how to receive," the pope told tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square Sept. 3 for his weekly general audience.

During the audience, the pope offered special prayers for all the students and teachers who recently returned to school or were about to start a new school year.

"Pray for them, through the intercession of the Blesseds -- and soon saints -- Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, for the gift of a deep faith in their journey of maturation," the pope said just days before he was scheduled to preside over the canonizations of the two young Italians. 

In his main talk, Pope Leo continued his series of reflections on lessons of hope from the Gospel stories of Jesus' last days and focused specifically on the 19th chapter of the Gospel of John where Jesus on the cross says, "I thirst."

"If even the son of God chose not to be self-sufficient, then our thirst too -- for love, for meaning, for justice -- is a sign not of failure, but of truth," the pope said.

Jesus' thirst is not just physical, the pope said; it is "above all the expression of a profound desire: that of love, of relationship, of communion. It is the silent cry of a God who, having wished to share everything of our human condition, also lets himself be overcome by this thirst."

By not being afraid to ask for something to drink, Jesus "tells us that love, in order to be true, must also learn to ask and not only to give."

At a time when most societies seem to reward self-sufficiency, efficiency and performance, the pope said, "the Gospel shows us that the measure of our humanity is not given by what we can achieve, but by our ability to let ourselves be loved and, when necessary, even helped." 

Jesus' cry of thirst, he said, "is ours too. It is the cry of a wounded humanity that seeks living water. And this thirst does not lead us away from God but rather unites us with him."

Admitting the need for help, "our fragility is a bridge toward heaven," he said.

"There is nothing more human, nothing more divine, than being able to say: I need," Pope Leo told the crowd. "Let us not be afraid to ask, especially when it seems to us that we do not deserve. Let us not be ashamed to reach out our hand. It is right there, in that humble gesture, that salvation hides."

After the audience, members of the Jesus Bikers, a motorcycle club from Germany, and representatives of Missio Austria, the pontifical mission societies in Austria, presented Pope Leo XIV with a modified BMW R18 motorcycle, which he autographed and then sat on.

The bike will be auctioned by Sotheby's, and Missio Austria will use the money to help build a school for children who work in the mica mines in Madagascar. 
 

Pope Leo: Don't be afraid to ask for help

A look at Pope Leo's general audience Sept. 3.

ROME (CNS) -- Twelve years after ending two terms as prior general of the Augustinian order, Pope Leo XIV encouraged his confreres in the order to pray to the Holy Spirit for the gifts of listening, being humble and promoting unity.

Presiding at a Mass of the Holy Spirit Sept. 1 to open the order's general chapter meeting, the pope had a prepared homily in Italian but chose to speak first in English.

"For those of you who understand English but don't understand Italian," he said, "pray for a gift of the Holy Spirit."

After some laughter, he prayed that members of the general chapter would not necessarily receive the spiritual gift of speaking and understanding all languages but "the gift to listen and the gift to be humble and the gift to promote unity within the order and through the order, throughout the church and the world."

Pope Leo, the former Father Robert F. Prevost, served two six-year terms as prior general of the order, leading the Augustinians from 2001 to 2013.

He was succeeded by Spanish Father Alejandro Moral Antón, who was to finish his second term during the general chapter meeting. 

After the Mass, Pope Leo joined the chapter members for dinner in a large hall in the Italian attorney general's office, which is housed in a building next to the basilica that formerly belonged to the Augustinian order.

In his homily in Italian, the pope spoke more in-depth about his prayer that the Holy Spirit would bless the general chapter members with the ability to listen, to be humble and to promote unity.

"The Holy Spirit speaks today as in the past," the pope said. "He does so in the 'penetralia cordis' (the depth of the heart) and through brothers and sisters and the circumstances of life. This is why it is important for the atmosphere of the chapter, in harmony with the centuries-long tradition of the church, to be an atmosphere of listening: of listening to God and to others."

St. Augustine, the pope said, taught that the multiplicity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit was "an invitation to us to make ourselves small in the face of the freedom and inscrutability of God's action." 

"Let no one think they have all the answers. May each person openly share what they have. May everyone welcome with faith that which the Lord inspires," the pope told the friars.

The first reading at the Mass was from 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, which explains how the Spirit gives people different gifts but gives them all to build up the one body of Christ.

"Let unity be an indispensable goal of your efforts, but not only that: may it also be the criterion for evaluating your actions and your work together, because what unites is from him, but what divides cannot be," Pope Leo told his confreres.
 

Pope Leo to Augustinians: Listen, be humble, promote unity

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass Sept. 1 for the opening of the Augustinians general chapter meeting.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV, praying publicly for the victims of the school shooting in Minneapolis, also prayed for an end to the "pandemic" of gun violence.

After reciting the Angelus prayer with visitors in St. Peter's Square Aug. 31, Pope Leo switched from Italian to English when he led the prayers for the community of Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis where two children were killed during Mass Aug. 27 and 18 other people were injured.

In remembering "the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota," the pope said, "we include in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world."

"Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world," he said. "May our mother, Mary, the Queen of Peace, help us to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: 'They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.'" 

Pope Leo also called again for an end to Russia's war on Ukraine, decrying renewed attacks on various Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv.

"Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine continues to sow death and destruction," the pope told thousands of people gathered for the midday prayer.

"I renew my closeness to the Ukrainian people and to all the wounded families," he said, calling on everyone "not to give in to indifference but to draw near (to the Ukrainian people) through prayer and concrete acts of charity."

"I strongly reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate ceasefire and for a serious commitment to dialogue," he said. "It is time for leaders to abandon the logic of weapons and to take up the path of negotiation and peace, with the support of the international community. The voice of weapons must be silenced, while the voice of fraternity and justice must be raised."

Pope Leo also prayed for migrants from Africa who drowned Aug. 26 when their boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania as they were trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands.

"Our hearts are also wounded by the more than 50 people who died and around 100 still missing in the shipwreck of a vessel carrying migrants who were attempting the 1,100-kilometer (about 680-mile) journey to the Canary Islands, which capsized off the Atlantic coast of Mauritania," the pope said.

"This deadly tragedy is repeated every day around the world," Pope Leo said. "Let us pray that the Lord may teach us, as individuals and as a society, to fully put into practice his word: 'I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.'"

Speaking in both English and Italian, the pope entrusted all the "injured, missing and dead everywhere to our Savior's loving embrace."
 

Pope Leo prays for victims of Catholic school shooting

Pope Leo prays publicly for the victims of the Catholic school shooting.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- "So much of who I am I owe to the spirit and the teachings of St. Augustine," Pope Leo XIV told his Augustinian confreres and their benefactors who were celebrating the saint's feast day in Philadelphia.

As Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the pope had been scheduled to be in Philadelphia for the celebration Aug. 28 and to receive an award. But in May he was elected pope.

So instead, Augustinian Father Robert P. Hagan, prior of the order's Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, based outside Philadelphia, presented the St. Augustine Medal to Pope Leo in July in Castel Gandolfo where the pope was taking a summer break.

The presentation was filmed along with a long video message by Pope Leo, reflecting on St. Augustine and the religious order inspired by him, which the future pope joined in 1977. The video was played in Philadelphia Aug. 28. 

St. Augustine, who lived 354-430, "was one of the great founders of monasticism; a bishop, theologian, preacher, writer and doctor of the church," the pope said. "But this did not happen overnight. His life was full of much trial and error, like our own lives."

"But through God's grace, through the prayers of his mother, Monica, and the community of good people around him, Augustine was able to find the way to peace for his restless heart," he said.

St. Augustine recognized that "we all have God-given gifts and talents," the pope said, "and our purpose, fulfillment and joy comes from offering them back in loving service to God and to our neighbor."

That service, he said, includes ministering to immigrants.

The friars in the United States, he said, "stand on the shoulders of Augustinian friars like Father Matthew Carr and Father John Rossiter whose missionary spirit led them in the late 1700s to go forth (from Ireland) and bring the good news of the Gospel in service to Irish and German immigrants searching for a better life and religious tolerance." 

"Jesus reminds us in the Gospel to love our neighbor, and this challenges us now more than ever to remember to see our neighbors today with the eyes of Christ: that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God," he said.

As Christians and as people inspired by St. Augustine, the pope said, "we are called to go forth to be peacemakers in our families and neighborhoods and truly recognize God's presence in one another."

"Through friendship, relationship, dialogue and respect for one another," Pope Leo said, "we can see past our differences and discover our true identity as sisters and brothers in Christ."

"Peace begins with what we say and do and how we say and do it," the pope said.

And listening is an important part of peacemaking, he said.

"St. Augustine reminds us that before we speak, we first must listen," the pope said, "and as a synodal church, we are encouraged to re-engage in the art of listening through prayer, through silence, discernment and reflection."

"We have the opportunity and responsibility to listen to the Holy Spirit; to listen to each other; to listen to the voices of the poor and those on the margins whose voices need to be heard," Pope Leo said.

St. Augustine taught the faithful "to listen to the inner teacher, the voice that speaks from within all of us. It is within our hearts where God speaks to us," he said.

Learning to hear that inner voice, the pope said, is especially important in a world filled with noise where "our heads and hearts can be flooded with many different kinds of messages," which "can fuel our restlessness and steal our joy."

"As a community of faith, striving to build a relationship with the Lord," Pope Leo encouraged people to "strive to filter the noise, the divisive voices in our heads and hearts, and open ourselves up to the daily invitations to get to know God and God's love better."
 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Ravaging the earth and creating environmental injustices are not what God had in mind when he entrusted creation to humanity, Pope Leo XIV said.

In fact, following Pope Francis' teachings on integral ecology must be accepted as "the right path to follow," the pope said in his message for the 2025 World Day of Prayer for Creation.

"Nature itself is reduced at times to a bargaining chip, a commodity to be bartered for economic or political gain. As a result, God's creation turns into a battleground for the control of vital resources," Pope Leo wrote.

"Agricultural areas and forests peppered with landmines, 'scorched earth' policies, conflicts over water sources, and the unequal distribution of raw materials, which penalizes the poorer nations and undermines social stability itself," are among the many wounds inflicted against creation and "are the effect of sin," he wrote.

"This is surely not what God had in mind when he entrusted the earth to the men and women whom he created in his image," he wrote in his message, which was released by the Vatican July 2. 

The World Day of Prayer for Creation, which will be celebrated Sept. 1, marks the start of the ecumenical Season of Creation. The season concludes Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology.

The theme for 2025, "Seeds of Peace and Hope," had been chosen by Pope Francis to be in harmony with the Holy Year dedicated to "Pilgrims of Hope." The 2025 message also coincides with the late pope's 2015 encyclical, "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home," from which Pope Leo's message cited extensively.

"In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, 'seeds of peace and hope,'" Pope Leo wrote.

Just as the Holy Spirit "can make an arid and parched desert into a garden, a place of rest and serenity," he wrote, "prayer, determination and concrete actions are necessary if this 'caress of God' is to become visible to our world."

In different parts of the world, "our earth is being ravaged," Pope Leo wrote. "On all sides, injustice, 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."

"Extreme natural phenomena caused by climate changes provoked by human activity are growing in intensity and frequency, to say nothing of the medium and long-term effects of the human and ecological devastation being wrought by armed conflicts," he wrote.

The destruction of nature does not affect everyone in the same way, he wrote. "When justice and peace are trampled underfoot, those who are most hurt are the poor, the marginalized and the excluded. The suffering of Indigenous communities is emblematic in this regard." 

"The Bible provides no justification for us to exercise 'tyranny over creation,'" the pope wrote. On the contrary, the biblical texts imply "a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature."

Environmental justice, he wrote, "can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant goal" and it involves "much more than simply protecting the environment."

"It is a matter of justice -- social, economic and human," he wrote. "For believers, it is also a duty born of faith, since the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed."

"In a world where the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change, deforestation and pollution, care for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity," Pope Leo wrote.

"Now is the time to follow words with deeds," he wrote.

Pope Francis' encyclical, "'Laudato Si',' has now guided the Catholic Church and many people of goodwill for ten years. May it continue to inspire us and may integral ecology be increasingly accepted as the right path to follow," he wrote.

WASHINGTON – As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) increases in the workplace, we must “advocate for the responsible use of technology, robust protection for those vulnerable to exploitation,” said Archbishop Borys Gudziak in a statement for Labor Day (Sept. 1). Archbishop Gudziak echoed Pope Leo XIV’s encouragement for the Church to turn to its social teaching in response to AI. 

“My brother bishops and I are particularly mindful those among us who are already vulnerable—immigrant workers, farm laborers, low-wage earners, and young people—who often suffer the greatest effects of economic disruptions. Catholics should insist that the benefits of emerging technology are shared equitably.” 

Archbishop Gudziak of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia is chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. 

The full Labor Day statement is available here (Spanish).

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