Pope Francis has ordered the transformation of the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, overlooking Lake Albano near Rome, into a training center for "integral ecology."
It is to be named "Borgo Laudato si'," recalling the 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato si'.
According to a communiqué published Thursday by the Vatican City State, the "activities and initiatives" to be launched soon will aim to "combine education in integral ecology, circular and generative economy, and environmental sustainability."
The "Borgo Laudato si'" will be "able to draw on the wonderful natural and historical heritage of the papal villas, committing to protect and develop it with loving care, in order to combine investment in education with a consequent commitment to promoting a culture of care," the communiqué continues.
The Holy Father has decided to entrust the development and implementation of the Borgo Laudato si' project to the Laudato si' Higher Education Center, "a body of scientific, educational, and social activity, working for integral formation."
"It will be its task to translate this wonderful intuition of Pope Francis into concrete works in the coming months."
As indicated in the introduction of the chirograph:
"Caring for the 'common home' is a responsibility we assume towards our neighbor and, at the same time, a way of recognizing the infinite beauty of God and contemplating the mystery of the universe.
So that the desire to contribute to the fulfillment of this duty may awaken in everyone, I recalled in the encyclical Laudato si' the example of Saint Francis who showed a particular respect for God's creative work, considering it inseparable from attention to the least and the abandoned (cf. LS, 10)."
"A true ecological conversion is necessary, which translates into 'new convictions, new attitudes, and new lifestyles (LS, 202)'.
This conversion necessarily passes through ecological education, a formation of consciences inspired by the sharing of goods, by respect for the dignity of each person, by the gratuitousness of work and gift," concluded the Vatican communiqué.
Also read | Who is the true Pope today at the head of the Catholic Church?
The Papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo has existed since the 17th century and has been used since then by almost all Popes to enjoy the cooler air in summer. Pope Pius XII and Pope Paul VI died there.
Pope Francis has opposed the tradition of using a summer residence, just as he no longer lives in the Apostolic Palace, unlike the Popes who preceded him. Instead, he lives at the "Domus Sanctae Marthae" hotel, where Cardinals are housed during the election of the Pope and which was originally intended to serve as accommodation for guests of the Pope and the curia.