Pope Leo channels Francis, calls for the conversion of those who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home.

On a day the Roman Pontiff met Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he reiterated the importance of both Laudato si' and Fratelli tutti

On vacation in Castel Gandolfo, today the Holy Father celebrated what could be the first Mass worldwide for the Care of Creation, a new formulary of the Roman Missal, met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith made a pronouncement on the Marian Apparitions in Mount Zvir, Slovakia.

Care for Creation

Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, who was a tireless campaigner on the issue of climate change, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass this morning in the beautiful Laudato Si’ Village, an educational centre set up by Pope Francis in Castel Gandolfo for the study of the care of planet Earth, using the newly published Mass for the Care of Creation.

In a powerful homily that can be read in full here, the Holy Father started with some words that were off-the-cuff:

“At the beginning of Mass, we prayed for conversion, our conversion. I would like to add that we must pray for the conversion of so many people, inside and outside the Church, who still don't recognize the urgency of caring for our common home. Many of the natural disasters we still see around the world, almost every day in many places, in many countries, are partly caused by human excesses and their lifestyles. Therefore, we must ask ourselves whether or not we ourselves are experiencing that conversion: how much we need it!”

Returning to the prepared text, mediating on the Gospel of the Calming of the Storm, His Holiness continued:

“There are some elements that really help to continue the reflection this morning, sharing this familiar and serene moment, in a world that burns, both because of global warming and because of armed conflicts, which make Pope Francis' message so timely in his Encyclicals Laudato si' and Fratelli tutti. We can find ourselves precisely in this Gospel, which we have heard, observing the fear of the disciples in the storm, a fear that is that of a large part of humanity. But in the heart of the Jubilee year we confess - and we can say it several times: there is hope! We have encountered it in Jesus. He still calms the storm. His power does not upset, but creates; it does not destroy, but makes it be, giving new life. And we also ask ourselves: "Who is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?" (Mt 8:27).”

Adding:

“Our mission to protect creation, to bring peace and reconciliation, is His very mission: the mission the Lord has entrusted to us. We hear the cry of the earth, we hear the cry of the poor, because this cry has reached the heart of God. Our indignation is His indignation, our work is His work.”

“The voice of the Lord commits the Church to prophecy, even when it demands the boldness to oppose the destructive power of the princes of this world. The indestructible alliance between Creator and creatures, in fact, mobilizes our intelligence and our efforts, so that evil may be turned into good, injustice into justice, greed into communion.”

The Pope ended his homily, quoting the words of his predecessor on the Holy Eucharist:

“The Eucharist we are celebrating gives meaning and sustains our work. As Pope Francis writes, "in the Eucharist, creation finds its greatest elevation. Grace, which tends to manifest itself in a tangible way, reaches a marvellous expression when God Himself, made man, allows Himself to be eaten by His creature. The Lord, at the culmination of the mystery of the Incarnation, wished to reach our intimacy through a fragment of matter. Not from above, but from within, so that in our own world we might encounter him””

Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Rome for the fourth conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war with Russia ends, and made the short trip to Castel Gandolfo to be received in audience by Pope Leo XIV. The two men spoke in English.

According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the conversation between the two centred on efforts to end the war, with the Pope expressing his sorrow for the victims and renewed his prayers and closeness to the Ukrainian people, “encouraging every effort aimed at the release of prisoners and the search for shared solutions.”

President Zelenskyy, for his part, spoke briefly with journalists after the meeting, saying; “First of all, I am very grateful for His Holiness for hosting us, and naturally for his help, the help of the Vatican, the help with prayers, but not only, also [in helping] to bring back our children stolen by Russia during this war, so that they may return to their families in Ukraine.” He concluded by saying “Of course we want peace, of course we want this war to end, and of course we rely heavily on the Vatican, that the Vatican and His Holiness can help us with a high-level meeting place to end this war.”

Immaculate Purity

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, responding to a request from Archbishop Jonáš Jozef Maxim, the head of the sui iuris Slovak Greek Catholic Church, has approved devotion to the Immaculate Purity, that has arisen from the alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Mount Zvir in Slovakia.

The first of these alleged apparitions occurred on August 5, 1990, close to Litmanová, a small village of Byzantine Rite Catholics in the mountains of northern Slovakia, and involved three children: Ivetka Korcáková, 11 years old; Katka Ceselková, 12; and Mitko Ceselka, 9. The last of the alleged apparitions occurred in 1995.

The lengthy letter can be read here, is careful to pronounce that “this declaration does not imply recognition of the supernatural authenticity of the alleged apparitions, it nevertheless permits the approval of public devotion and informs the faithful that they can safely approach this spiritual offering, it they so wish, and that the basic contents of the alleged messages can help us live the Gospel of Christ.”

Rome has also entrusted Archbishop Maxim with the task of publishing a compilation of the alleged messages of the Blessed Virgin Mary, excluding “those few statements that could lead to confusion and disturb the faith of ordinary people.”