On July 9, 2025, Pope Leo XIV will celebrate a historic new liturgy: the first-ever Mass for the Care of Creation, a major development in the Catholic Church’s deepening commitment to integral ecology. Celebrated during his summer holiday with staff of the “Borgo Laudato Sì” educational center in Castel Gandolfo, the Mass reflects a liturgical and theological milestone in how the Church encourages care for the environment as a work of faith, hope, and love.
According to Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Church is now offering “liturgical, spiritual and communal support for the care we all need to exercise of nature, our common home.” He emphasized that such service “is indeed a great act of faith, hope and charity,” and that this Mass calls Catholics to be “faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us — not only in daily choices and public policies, but also in our prayer, our worship, and our way of living in the world” (Vatican Press Conference, July 3).
This formulary, a set of official prayers and readings for Mass, was added to the Roman Missal by decree on June 8, 2025, with the approval of Pope Leo XIV. It now joins the 17 liturgies already included under “Masses and Prayers for Various Needs and Occasions” that relate to civil needs.
What sets this new Mass apart is its clear integration of theological reflection, Scripture, and liturgical practice in response to the ecological crisis. Developed collaboratively by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the text is rooted in the 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, explained the theological depth of the new Mass, saying it “takes up some of the main positions contained in Laudato Si’ and expresses them in the form of a prayer within the theological framework that the encyclical revives.” He further clarified that the Mass offers an antidote to a “false or superficial ecology” and promotes instead the concept of “integral ecology,” reminding Catholics that environmental care cannot be separated from concern for the poor (Press Conference, July 3).
The readings selected for the Mass span both Testaments. From the Old Testament, the Book of Wisdom (13:1–9) encourages recognizing God through creation. The Responsorial Psalms include verses from Psalm 18, where “the heavens declare the glory of God,” and Psalm 103, which praises the Lord through His creatures. From the New Testament, Colossians 1:15–20 proclaims Christ as the center of all creation: “For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth.” Two Gospel passages from Matthew are suggested: 6:24–34, where Christ teaches that God provides for the birds of the sky; and 8:23–27, where Jesus calms the storm, demonstrating his authority over creation.
The prayers in the new formulary invite Catholics to live more harmoniously with creation: “While we wait for new heavens and a new earth, let us learn to live in harmony with all creatures.”
Cardinal Czerny added that this new liturgical development helps Catholics grasp that care for creation is already embedded in the Church’s tradition: “Creation is not an added theme but is always already present in the Catholic liturgy,” he said. “The Eucharist joins heaven and earth… and we bless God for the bread and wine we receive.”
This initiative also draws attention to the real human suffering caused by environmental degradation. As Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for the 2025 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, “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’s private celebration of this Mass at the Borgo Laudato Sì — named for the encyclical that helped launch a global ecological movement within the Church — underscores that the care of creation is not merely a topic for discussion, but a call to action rooted in Catholic worship itself.
In the words of Laudato Si’, “everything is connected.” This new Mass makes that truth clearer than ever, reminding us that to care for the earth is also to care for one another — and to worship God as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all.
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