While the chefs laughed at the Pope's admission, he went on to say it was a hunger for justice and genuine charity.
Surrounded by the sound of cicadas, Leo XIV had lunch with some 200 people n the gardens of the papal villas at Castel Gandolfo on Saturday, July 11. The Holy Father is at the villa for a few days of summer vacation. Speaking briefly to his guests before the meal, he called for the causes of poverty and injustice to be eliminated.
Those chosen to attend the lunch are all facing difficult situations, such as homelessness or migration. They awaited the Pontiff in small groups in the shade of the park’s olive trees.
Welcoming them, Pope Leo said he had come “without a speech but with a hunger” – prompting laughter while the cooks were busy preparing pasta outdoors. He then spoke of his “hunger for justice, […] for genuine charity, […] a hunger for a Church that truly knows how to open its doors, to welcome and receive everyone, where there is love for all and where no one is an enemy.”
Drawing inspiration from his title of "pontiff," which means "bridge-builder," the Successor of Peter encouraged people to build "a different world, a world of hope, a world that is a light" in "a reality all too often torn apart by violence, hatred and discrimination."
Today we would like to build a bridge with all of you, with your families and with the society in which we wish to live – to live in justice. A place where the causes of poverty can be eradicated, where the causes of the injustices that still exist in our world can be eradicated: this is the Church we wish to be.
He called for “the elimination of the causes of poverty, […] the causes of the injustices that still exist in our world,” offering a thought for “all those who find themselves in difficulty or suffering.”
Leo XIV shared his table with people representing the 200 guests: a refugee mother from Tanzania and her two children, aged 7 and 5, a Ukrainian man, a refugee from Peru, and a Sudanese man. On the papal menu: pasta with Amatriciana sauce, roast veal, chicory, and strawberries with cream.
On August 17, 2025, Leo XIV had a similar lunch with some 80 people in need. This gathering, which is now intended to be an annual event, is organized by the Borgo Laudato si', the Vatican’s ecological laboratory situated in the gardens of the summer residence.
