The Holy Father celebrated Mass in Castel Gandolfo today, urging us to not leave the Lord outside our churches, our homes, and our lives -- linking the acceptance of poverty with the acceptance of Christ.
On August 17, 2025, before a crowd of about 100 people gathered in the ancient sanctuary of Santa Maria della Rotonda in Albano, the Pope celebrated Mass and reflected on “welcoming” all forms of poverty and charity. The Pope went on to have lunch with around 100 people in precarious situations in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the popes.
This morning, Pope Leo XIV arrived by car at the sanctuary of Santa Maria della Rotonda, located about three kilometers from his vacation home in Castel Gandolfo.
This building, dedicated to the Virgin Mary since the 11th century, was originally the nymphaeum of the villa of Emperor Domitian (51-96). Its architecture is comparable to the Pantheon in Rome.
In his homily, the Pope spoke of the geometry of the place.
“Its circular shape, like that of St. Peter's Square and other ancient and new churches, makes us feel welcomed into the bosom of God,” he said.
Before him stood people in need, some from shelters and family homes in the Albano area, others homeless people cared for by the diocesan Caritas.
Following in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope Francis, Leo XIV emphasized the inclusive nature of the Church.
“But its divine reality is revealed when we cross the threshold and find a welcome there,” the Pope stressed. “Then our poverty, our vulnerability and, above all, our failures, for which we may be despised and judged — and sometimes we despise and judge ourselves — are finally welcomed into the gentle strength of God."
“Let us tear down the walls”
The 267th pope thanked those who are committed to “carrying the fire of charity” to the most vulnerable. But he invited Catholics not to make distinctions between “those who help and those who are helped, between those who seem to give and those who seem to receive, between those who seem poor and those who feel capable of offering their time, their skills, their help.”
“We are the Church of the Lord, a Church of the poor,” he said, before adding: “Let us tear down the walls.”
For the head of the Catholic Church, the marginalized are those who “bear the poverty of Christ.”
“Let us not leave the Lord outside our churches, our homes, and our lives,” he urged, linking the acceptance of poverty with the acceptance of Christ.
In his homily, the Pope also invited people not to confuse “peace with comfort” or “good with tranquility.” Noting the Sunday Gospel, he recalled that Christ came to bring fire to the earth, but “not the fire of weapons or words that reduce others to ashes,” but the “fire of love, which humbles itself and serves.”
Lunch with the poor
The Pope then returned to Castel Gandolfo to pray the Angelus prayer at noon in Liberty Square. He then went to the gardens of the Borgo Laudato si' in Castel Gandolfo, to lunch with 110 disadvantaged people from the region.
The lunch menu, it was announced, will respect the dietary requirements of the different religions practiced by the people assisted by Caritas. Participants will enjoy lasagna made with vegetables from the garden, roast veal with herbs, and a dessert renamed Le Dessert Léon for the occasion.
The Borgo Laudato si’ estate belongs to the Holy See and covers 35 hectares of gardens and 20 hectares of farmland. It has a rich ecosystem with more than 3,000 plants of 300 different species.
It was Pope Francis who, in 2023, launched the idea of a laboratory for “integral ecology” that cares for nature and human dignity. Pope Leo XIV seems keen to develop it. He celebrated Mass there on July 9.
