‘Put It All on Silent Mode’ Urges Pope Leo XIV

HOLY MASS FOR THE CARE OF CREATION

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV

Garden of the Madonnina del Borgo Laudato Si’, within the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo
Tuesday, 1 September 2026

…. Thus, as we become conscious of our shortcomings and failures, we can renew our commitment to restoring the relationships among all creatures according to the will of their Creator.

For this reason, the Message for today’s World Day echoes “the prophetic call to ‘beat swords into ploughshares’ (Is 2:4)… to transform harm into life.”  It is not yet too late, and the Season of Creation calls us to a profound conversion: “What has been used for destruction can be redirected toward life, toward the care of the poor, the nourishment of the hungry, and the safeguarding of creation” (ibid.).

The Season we begin today will conclude on 4 October, when we will celebrate the eighth centenary of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi.  Pope Francis drew particular inspiration from him in writing the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ and in giving life to the Borgo that welcomes us today.

Let us therefore unite ourselves spiritually with the Poverello of Assisi and make his Canticle of praise our own:

“Praised be you, my Lord, with all your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun…
Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars…
Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Wind…
Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water…
Praised be you, my Lord, through Brother Fire…
Praised be you, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us.”

With Saint Francis, let us renew our commitment to living and promoting that universal fraternity which is inseparably bound to the task of caring for creation.

Click here to read the full homily.

Patrick Leonard Ahamlish Parish
Patrick Leonard, Carney Co. Sligo with Pope Leo. Patrick is a cameraman for the American religious TV company EWTN. Patrick also traveled with the late Pope Francis on his journeys. This trip included Algiers, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

The Crib – 800 Years

The Crib – 800 Years

St. Francis of Assisi, set up a Christmas nativity scene in the village of Greccio close to the Italian city of Reiti, in December 1223. Eight hundred years later, all over the country, in our homes, schools, workplaces, churches and outdoor venues, cribs are taken out of safe storage for the Christmas season. This tradition remains as an essential part of Christmas for many people..


The Crib is a symbol of the events in Bethlehem two thousand years ago and represents the diversity of the human condition then and now. It symbolises family, love, homelessness, exile, fear, faith, welcome, rejection, wealth, poverty, status, race, the natural world, the human and the divine.
This year, the eighth hundredth anniversary of St Francis’s nativity scene, provides an opportunity for reflection on and celebration of the tradition of the Crib.


O come, let us adore Him.