Pope Leo will open a new Vatican-run ecological training
centre in the Italian countryside on Friday, in an initiative
Catholic officials say is meant to encourage world leaders to
address global climate change.
The centre, located across 55 hectares (136 acres) on the
sprawling grounds of a Renaissance-era papal villa in Castel
Gandolfo, includes gardens, vocational training facilities, and
educational opportunities for local children.
Rev. Manuel Dorantes, a U.S. priest directing the centre,
said the Vatican wants to set an example for how countries
should pursue environmental initiatives.
“If we, the smallest city-state in the world, can do this,
what is the potential for other states that are bigger than us?”
he said. “Our world can be different if we work together.”
The ecological project, named the “Borgo Laudato Si”, was
first announced in 2023 by the late Pope Francis, who was a firm
proponent of environmental care. The centre’s large surface area
represents about 55 percent of the Vatican’s total landholdings,
according to officials.
The centre is named after a major 2015 document by Francis,
which was the first papal text to embrace the scientific
consensus about climate change and urged nations to reduce their
carbon emissions.
Leo, the first U.S. pope, has also emphasised the Church’s
environmental teachings. In July, the new pontiff approved a
first-of-its-kind rite allowing priests to celebrate Masses that
exhort Catholics to exercise care for the Earth.
Castel Gandolfo is about an hour’s drive southeast of Rome
on the shores of Lake Albano. A place where popes have spent
summer vacations for centuries, the new centre is attached to
the building where Leo took his holidays earlier this year.
At the heart of the new institute is a greenhouse built in a
curved shape to imitate the colonnade in St. Peter’s Square at
the Vatican.
Officials say visiting groups will be able to learn about
organic farming in the greenhouse, or take classes in an
adjacent 10-room educational facility.
Tourists, who can book a visit, will also be able to buy
local agricultural products, including wine grown from vineyards
on the Vatican grounds, organic olive oil, and cheese made from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pope Leo will open a new Vatican-run ecological trainingcentre in the Italian countryside on Friday, in an initiativeCatholic officials say is meant to encourage world leaders toaddress global climate change.The centre, located across 55 hectares (136 acres) on thesprawling grounds of a Renaissance-era papal villa in CastelGandolfo, includes gardens, vocational training facilities, andeducational opportunities for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n