Despite the formalities that accompanied Pope Leo’s presence, the experience was strikingly familial. I was moved by the perceptible sense of interconnectedness that enveloped the space. Surrounded by the warmth of the sun, a cool breeze and the soft chirping of birds, I found myself completely calm and fully present.
Laudato Si’
Posted inShort Take
St. Francis’ ode to creation at 800
Celebrating St. Francis’ canticle today can trigger a rejuvenation of environmental awareness for the planet’s next 800 years.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
A small town in Honduras stands up to a mining ‘giant’—with Catholic support
“We are alive only through the grace of God. At one point, I got messages saying someone had offered 1 million lempiras [$38,000] to have me killed.”
Posted inPolitics & Society, The Weekly Dispatch
On ‘Laudato Si’ anniversary, Trump policies threaten progress on climate change
There are some signs of progress in addressing the questions raised in “Laudato Si’.” There are also intimations of backpedaling, particularly by the Trump administration, regarding the industrialized world’s malign effects on creation.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Leo visits papal villa and former summer residence in Castel Gandolfo
Pope Leo XIV spent several hours May 29 visiting the Borgo Laudato Si’ ecology project set up at the papal villa and farm in Castel Gandolfo, as well as the former papal summer residence there.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Interview: the Jesuit building Brazil’s premier Laudato Si’ university
“We were once leaders in petroleum and gas research; now we’re becoming leaders in green hydrogen and carbon capture. This isn’t just a technological shift; it’s a spiritual one.”
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
How Pope Francis brought me back to the Catholic Church
I discovered that Catholicism could speak meaningfully to contemporary issues, that it could challenge power rather than embody it. I began to pay attention again.
Posted inFaith, Faith in Focus
I went to the Met to look at Caspar David Friedrich’s landscapes. I didn’t expect to find my old Jesuit friend.
It was Drew Christiansen, S.J., even more than Thoreau or Aquinas, whom I was surprised to encounter amid the German landscapes on the Upper East Side.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
How a modern-day shepherd found God on his Irish family farm
On this week’s episode of “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley interview bestselling Irish author John Connell on how embracing the farm life preserved by his family for generations brought him closer to God and greater inner peace.
Posted inFaith, News
Pope Francis receives new all-electric popemobile
Pope Francis received a new, emission-free, all-electric popemobile from representatives of Mercedes-Benz, the German car manufacturer that has been supplying vehicles for the popes for nearly 100 years.