Pope Leo XIV champions climate action with “green” Mass and solar Vatican

Pope Leo XIV has launched an ambitious initiative to combat climate change, introducing a “green” Mass and steering the Vatican toward complete reliance on solar power, Bloomberg reports.

Since succeeding the late Pope Francis in May, Leo has shown early promise as a climate champion. Observers had hoped he would uphold and even advance Francis’ environmental legacy, especially at a time when US leadership under President Donald Trump appeared intent on reversing long-standing environmental protections. So far, Leo has given no reason to doubt that he will match or exceed Francis’ green credentials, with Francis widely recognised as the most environmentally proactive pope in modern history.

The Italian government recently approved a proposal, initially put forward by Francis in 2024, to construct a solar array north of Rome capable of supplying all of Vatican City State’s energy needs. Leo immediately endorsed the project after his election, calling it a model for the world. Speaking at the site in June to Italian state television, he emphasised, “We all know the effects of climate change, and it is necessary to truly care for the whole world, for all of creation.”

The array still requires parliamentary approval, but if completed, it will make the Vatican one of the few countries powered entirely by renewable energy. Though the Vatican’s 0.17 square miles make it the tiniest of that group, the symbolic impact is significant. Solar panels on Vatican rooftops and an all-electric Popemobile reflect a worldview articulated by Francis in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, which criticised humanity’s environmental exploitation for short-term profit.

In Laudato Si’, Francis tied environmental responsibility to the Church’s social justice mission, warning that worsening ecological chaos would exacerbate global inequalities and inflict suffering on billions, particularly the most vulnerable. The moral argument helped galvanise international support for the landmark Paris climate accord that same year.

A decade later, climate action has faltered, challenged by fossil-fuel-driven political backlashes such as those embodied by Trump. Leo’s rise comes at an opportune moment to provide corrective leadership. Beyond the solar project, he has instituted the “Mass for the Care of Creation,” a new addition to the Church’s 49 approved services. He celebrated it for the first time last month at the Laudato Si’ Centre in Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence.

Wearing an emerald robe, he said, “We must pray for the conversion of so many people, inside and out of the church, who still don’t recognize the urgency of caring for our common home. We see so many natural disasters in the world, nearly every day and in so many countries, that are in part caused by the excesses of being human, with our lifestyle.”

Some critics argue the new Mass does not go far enough, and Leo’s progressive stance, including support for immigrants, will likely frustrate conservative American Catholics aligned with Trump’s administration. Nevertheless, his environmental priorities reflect the views of most Americans and American Catholics.

A 2023 Georgetown University poll found that 72% of US Catholics consider environmental justice an urgent issue, ranking it second only to marriage in church priorities. A 2022 Pew survey reported 57% of US Catholics view climate change as a serious problem, compared with 46% of Protestants. Francis’ Laudato Si’ inspired global Catholic climate activism, a legacy Leo is clearly continuing.

Leo’s environmental leadership comes amid a summer of record-breaking heat waves, wildfires, and floods across Europe, North America, and Asia. From continent-spanning fires in Canada to deadly floods in Texas and extreme heat in Japan, the impacts of climate change are evident worldwide.

By Tamilla Hasanova