Extending over 35 hectares of gardens and 20 hectares of farmland, the site boasts more than 3,000 plants from 300 species, vineyards, and olive groves.
On September 5, 2025, Pope Leo XIV will inaugurate the Borgo Laudato Si’, a new ecological center of the Holy See in Castel Gandolfo, the Vatican Press Office announced August 25. The celebrated Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, performing alongside his son Matteo, will join the event, which includes a papal blessing at 4 p.m.
The Borgo, whose name echoes Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical Laudato Si’ on care for creation, is both a natural sanctuary and a training ground for sustainable living.
Extending over 35 hectares of gardens and 20 hectares of farmland, the site boasts more than 3,000 plants from 300 species, vineyards and olive groves, as well as archaeological remains. Since 2023, it has also featured a new center for education in organic and regenerative agriculture, aiming to unite ecological responsibility with human dignity.
The idea of creating a “laboratory of integral ecology” was launched by Pope Francis in 2023. This vision reflects his call that the environment is on loan to each generation, which must then hand it on to the next (Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2415).
Marking the encyclical’s 10th anniversary this year, the Borgo seeks to embody that message in concrete initiatives: cultivation without chemical pesticides, local food production, and educational programs open to families, students, and pilgrims. A red wine produced on site is expected to be released in 2027.
For Leo XIV, the project is already a priority. Just three weeks after his election, on May 29, he visited the grounds. In July, during his first summer stay at Castel Gandolfo, he celebrated a Mass “for the care of creation” there.
The following month he returned to share a meal with 110 poor residents of the region. The inauguration will also be an occasion for him to meet the 50 employees and collaborators led by Cardinal Fabio Baggio, who has directed the site since 2023.
The papal residence at Castel Gandolfo, long a summer retreat for popes, is thus being renewed with a different focus: not only rest, but also ecological witness. The Borgo’s combination of biodiversity, history, and hands-on education represents a living response to Francis’ appeal for an “ecological conversion,” one that connects love for nature with solidarity among people.
Harmony in song
Bocelli’s presence underscores the cultural and spiritual resonance of the event. Known for his ability to bridge the sacred and the artistic, the tenor will give voice to what the Borgo itself intends to express: harmony between creation, faith, and human creativity.
With the inauguration of Borgo Laudato Si’, Leo XIV highlights a path forward for the Church’s environmental mission—rooted in prayer, sustained by science, and attentive to the poor. For visitors, it offers more than a beautiful landscape: it invites a way of life.
