09-07-2025
Pope celebrates first 'green' Mass using new rite in sign of strong ecological focus
ROME — Pope Leo XIV celebrated what has been dubbed as the first 'green' papal Mass, using a new set of prayers imploring care for God's creation in a sign he intends to emphasize environmental stewardship and climate justice for the world's most vulnerable people.
The Mass, in the gardens of the Vatican's new ecological educational center at the papal summer estate in Castel Gandolfo, indicated a strong line of ecological continuity with Pope Francis , who made environmental protection a hallmark of his pontificate.
