On vacation, Leo XIV to celebrate new Mass dedicated to creation

The new Mass formula joins the 49 Masses and prayers contained in the Missal “for various needs and occasions.” It will be inserted in the section entitled “Civil Needs,” which already includes 17 Masses. These include Masses in times of war, for the sanctification of human labor, after the harvest, for refugees and exiles, in time of earthquake, and even for rain.

Until now, the USCCB had recommended using the Mass “for the sanctification of human labor” for the intention of “care of creation.” Elements of that formulary speak “eloquently of God’s creation of the world, and the need of humanity to praise God by caring for that creation,” according to the USCCB’s website, which at the time of this writing has yet to be updated to reflect the existence of the new formulary.

This new Mass for creation can be celebrated during “ordinary” liturgical time, excluding Sundays and liturgical feasts. It may also be celebrated on a fixed date, by decision of the episcopal conferences. 

Four dicasteries participated in this initiative: for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, for Promoting Integral Human Development, for the Doctrine of the Faith, and for Promoting Christian Unity. Ten years after Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si', the aim is to invite the faithful to “ask God for the ability to protect creation,” explained Monsignor Vittorio Francesco Viola, secretary of the dicastery for liturgy.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, announced that Pope Leo XIV will celebrate this Mass on July 9, during his vacation in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.

The Pontiff will celebrate privately at Borgo Laudato si', the Holy See's ecological estate, with the employees.

This estate promoting environmentally friendly agriculture, which covers 85 acres of gardens and 50 acres of farmland, was an initiative of Pope Francis. It is run by Cardinal Fabio Baggio, a friend of the Argentine pontiff.

Leo XIV already visited the estate on May 29, three weeks after his election.

According to the text of the new Mass approved by Leo XIV, the celebrant opens the liturgy with a quotation from Psalm 18: “The heavens declare the Glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.” After Communion, the assembly prays to “live in harmony with all creatures.”

Bible readings are offered, with a choice of two passages from the Gospel: Jesus inviting us to trust in God by following the example of the birds who find their food each day (Matthew 6:24-34) or Jesus calming the storm on the sea (Matthew 8:23-27).