When Jesus and his followers encountered a man blind from birth, the disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him” (John 9:1–3). Traditional interpretations of this […]

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The Sisters of Bon Secours along with seven local Catholic congregations are launching a citywide advertisement campaign against gun violence in Baltimore. The ad features the message “Put the Guns Down, Let Peace Begin with Us” and a QR code linking to the campaign webpage. / Credit: Liz O’Neill

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Sisters of Bon Secours are launching a citywide campaign against gun violence with seven other Catholic congregations in Baltimore.

The advertisement campaign announced this week features ads inside and outside of city buses and in subway transit stations throughout the city that say “Put the Guns Down. Let Peace Begin With Us.”

The Bon Secours sisters are part of a coalition of religious sisters and others advocating for gun violence prevention called “Nuns Against Gun Violence.” Taking inspiration from a similar campaign by other sisters in Ohio, the Sisters of Bon Secours ultimately landed on an advertising campaign.

“The Sisters of Bon Secours have been involved in gun violence prevention advocacy efforts for many years and were looking for a way to bring more attention to the issue,” said Simone Blanchard, director of justice, peace, and integrity of creation for the Sisters of Bon Secours.

Bus advertisements will carry the message “all over the city instead of a few stationery billboards,” she said.

The advertisements feature a QR code that takes viewers to the sisters’ webpage, which has resources on combating gun violence, including a prayer for victims of gun violence and links to the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s gun buyback program. 

“The ads on Baltimore city buses reflect the commitment of my community and other Catholic sisters in Baltimore to say: There is another way,” said Sister Patricia Dowling of the Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours. 

“We all deserve safe streets, a sense of peace, and the freedom to live without fear,” she continued. “Peace begins with each of us, and anything we can do to raise awareness about alternatives to violence and the sacredness of life is essential today.”

Dowling said the campaign aligns with the congregation’s charism and is also “deeply personal.” 

“As a Sister of Bon Secours living in West Baltimore, I hear gunshots regularly,” Dowling told CNA. “I’ve seen the faces of those who’ve been shot, and I’ve walked with neighbors carrying the pain and trauma that gun violence leaves behind.”

“Our charism — compassion, healing, and liberation — calls us to uphold the dignity of every person and to seek peace in every situation,” she continued.

“It’s not just about my neighborhood — it’s about all of us,” Dowling said. 

Baltimore is among the top 10 cities in the U.S. with the highest rates of gun homicides. According to a recent review by Pew Research, the states with the highest gun murder rates in the U.S. include Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and New Mexico as well as Washington, D.C.

Blanchard said the campaign has its roots in Catholic social teaching, “starting with the foundational principle of the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death.”

“This teaching stems from the fact that we are all created in the image of God and have inherent dignity,” Blanchard told CNA. 

“As Catholics we are called to work for the common good towards a just and peaceful society where everyone’s needs are met, especially those living in poverty and violence,” Blanchard said. 

She noted that the campaign — and other efforts like it — is about having “solidarity with those who are suffering the most from the effects of gun violence.”

Other congregations that helped sponsor the new campaign include the Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore Emmanuel Monastery; the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Province of St. Louise; the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart; the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Atlantic Midwest Province; Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, U.S. East-West Province; the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; and the Oblate Sisters of Providence.

The Sisters of Bon Secours along with seven local Catholic congregations are launching a citywide advertisement campaign against gun violence in Baltimore. The ad features the message “Put the Guns Down, Let Peace Begin with Us” and a QR code linking to the campaign webpage. / Credit: Liz O’Neill

CNA Staff, May 29, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The Sisters of Bon Secours are launching a citywide campaign against gun violence with seven other Catholic congregations in Baltimore.

The advertisement campaign announced this week features ads inside and outside of city buses and in subway transit stations throughout the city that say “Put the Guns Down. Let Peace Begin With Us.”

The Bon Secours sisters are part of a coalition of religious sisters and others advocating for gun violence prevention called “Nuns Against Gun Violence.” Taking inspiration from a similar campaign by other sisters in Ohio, the Sisters of Bon Secours ultimately landed on an advertising campaign.

“The Sisters of Bon Secours have been involved in gun violence prevention advocacy efforts for many years and were looking for a way to bring more attention to the issue,” said Simone Blanchard, director of justice, peace, and integrity of creation for the Sisters of Bon Secours.

Bus advertisements will carry the message “all over the city instead of a few stationery billboards,” she said.

The advertisements feature a QR code that takes viewers to the sisters’ webpage, which has resources on combating gun violence, including a prayer for victims of gun violence and links to the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s gun buyback program. 

“The ads on Baltimore city buses reflect the commitment of my community and other Catholic sisters in Baltimore to say: There is another way,” said Sister Patricia Dowling of the Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours. 

“We all deserve safe streets, a sense of peace, and the freedom to live without fear,” she continued. “Peace begins with each of us, and anything we can do to raise awareness about alternatives to violence and the sacredness of life is essential today.”

Dowling said the campaign aligns with the congregation’s charism and is also “deeply personal.” 

“As a Sister of Bon Secours living in West Baltimore, I hear gunshots regularly,” Dowling told CNA. “I’ve seen the faces of those who’ve been shot, and I’ve walked with neighbors carrying the pain and trauma that gun violence leaves behind.”

“Our charism — compassion, healing, and liberation — calls us to uphold the dignity of every person and to seek peace in every situation,” she continued.

“It’s not just about my neighborhood — it’s about all of us,” Dowling said. 

Baltimore is among the top 10 cities in the U.S. with the highest rates of gun homicides. According to a recent review by Pew Research, the states with the highest gun murder rates in the U.S. include Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and New Mexico as well as Washington, D.C.

Blanchard said the campaign has its roots in Catholic social teaching, “starting with the foundational principle of the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death.”

“This teaching stems from the fact that we are all created in the image of God and have inherent dignity,” Blanchard told CNA. 

“As Catholics we are called to work for the common good towards a just and peaceful society where everyone’s needs are met, especially those living in poverty and violence,” Blanchard said. 

She noted that the campaign — and other efforts like it — is about having “solidarity with those who are suffering the most from the effects of gun violence.”

Other congregations that helped sponsor the new campaign include the Benedictine Sisters of Baltimore Emmanuel Monastery; the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Province of St. Louise; the Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart; the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Atlantic Midwest Province; Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, U.S. East-West Province; the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas; and the Oblate Sisters of Providence.

Springs of Love ministry founder Kimberly Henkel (right) speaks with “EWTN Pro-life Weekly” host Abi Galvan on May 28, 2025. / Credit: “EWTN Pro-life Weekly”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A Catholic foster care ministry leader is calling for Catholic families to support vulnerable children and families by becoming foster parents. 

Springs of Love ministry founder Kimberly Henkel said many Catholics are unaware of the “huge crisis in our country” surrounding foster care, and people of faith are in a unique position to bring love to children in need of foster care. 

Henkel, who is a foster and adoptive mother herself, launched Springs of Love as a ministry to help other Catholic couples navigate the process of fostering. Henkel described the foster system as “very cyclical” and “difficult to break out of,” with children often passing from home to home. In the end, she said, children who age out of foster care with no family connections are often left increasingly prone to addiction, homelessness, and even trafficking.

“We have the answer,” Henkel said in an “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” interview with host Abi Galvan on Tuesday. “We can help these children to heal by loving them … We have Jesus, the healer, the divine physician who can heal all of our wounds.”

According to Henkel, who founded Springs of Love in 2022, there are some 400,000 children in the foster care system. Approximately 20,000 will age out every year with no solid family foundation from which to embark on adulthood. 

“As my husband and I … started fostering and adopting, as we continued down the path, we just saw this need,” Henkel recalled. “So we started [Springs of Love] and are trying to No. 1, raise awareness, because so many Catholics have no idea” of the great need for foster families.

Springs of Love is currently working on releasing a new curriculum for prospective foster parents later this summer, Henkel said, noting that while much of it will touch on fostering from a pro-life perspective and the “joy of adoption,” it will also delve into more difficult aspects.

“A lot of the times when these kids are aging out,” she said, “they have no connections, they have nobody to look out for them.” Henkel noted that about 70% of young women who age out of the foster care system become pregnant within the first couple of years and either go on to “repeat the cycle” they experienced in their own lives or have an abortion.

“We’re really going in and trying to educate people,” Henkel said, “and doing it through the light of the Gospel to give people that hope that Christ can truly come into our hearts and bring the healing that we need.” 

Springs of Love has a video series on EWTN on Demand that tells the stories of foster families. The point, according to Henkel, is not only to raise awareness of the process of fostering a child but also to show that the aim of fostering is ultimately family reunification. 

“The goal of foster care is reunification, so if it is safe for a child to go back home, then we want to continue being a support to that family,” Henkel said. 

“This is how we can see a huge change, because when we’re dealing with these massive issues of homelessness, poverty, addictions, and trafficking, in order for people to break out of that, they need to be poured into,” she continued. “They need to know the love of Jesus [and] to have people to come alongside them and accompany them.”

Springs of Love is the sister organization of a ministry Henkel previously helped co-found called Springs in the Desert, which accompanies Catholic couples struggling with infertility and loss, “by offering a place of respite and solidarity,” as stated on its website.

Springs of Love ministry founder Kimberly Henkel (right) speaks with “EWTN Pro-life Weekly” host Abi Galvan on May 28, 2025. / Credit: “EWTN Pro-life Weekly”

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 29, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A Catholic foster care ministry leader is calling for Catholic families to support vulnerable children and families by becoming foster parents. 

Springs of Love ministry founder Kimberly Henkel said many Catholics are unaware of the “huge crisis in our country” surrounding foster care, and people of faith are in a unique position to bring love to children in need of foster care. 

Henkel, who is a foster and adoptive mother herself, launched Springs of Love as a ministry to help other Catholic couples navigate the process of fostering. Henkel described the foster system as “very cyclical” and “difficult to break out of,” with children often passing from home to home. In the end, she said, children who age out of foster care with no family connections are often left increasingly prone to addiction, homelessness, and even trafficking.

“We have the answer,” Henkel said in an “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” interview with host Abi Galvan on Tuesday. “We can help these children to heal by loving them … We have Jesus, the healer, the divine physician who can heal all of our wounds.”

According to Henkel, who founded Springs of Love in 2022, there are some 400,000 children in the foster care system. Approximately 20,000 will age out every year with no solid family foundation from which to embark on adulthood. 

“As my husband and I … started fostering and adopting, as we continued down the path, we just saw this need,” Henkel recalled. “So we started [Springs of Love] and are trying to No. 1, raise awareness, because so many Catholics have no idea” of the great need for foster families.

Springs of Love is currently working on releasing a new curriculum for prospective foster parents later this summer, Henkel said, noting that while much of it will touch on fostering from a pro-life perspective and the “joy of adoption,” it will also delve into more difficult aspects.

“A lot of the times when these kids are aging out,” she said, “they have no connections, they have nobody to look out for them.” Henkel noted that about 70% of young women who age out of the foster care system become pregnant within the first couple of years and either go on to “repeat the cycle” they experienced in their own lives or have an abortion.

“We’re really going in and trying to educate people,” Henkel said, “and doing it through the light of the Gospel to give people that hope that Christ can truly come into our hearts and bring the healing that we need.” 

Springs of Love has a video series on EWTN on Demand that tells the stories of foster families. The point, according to Henkel, is not only to raise awareness of the process of fostering a child but also to show that the aim of fostering is ultimately family reunification. 

“The goal of foster care is reunification, so if it is safe for a child to go back home, then we want to continue being a support to that family,” Henkel said. 

“This is how we can see a huge change, because when we’re dealing with these massive issues of homelessness, poverty, addictions, and trafficking, in order for people to break out of that, they need to be poured into,” she continued. “They need to know the love of Jesus [and] to have people to come alongside them and accompany them.”

Springs of Love is the sister organization of a ministry Henkel previously helped co-found called Springs in the Desert, which accompanies Catholic couples struggling with infertility and loss, “by offering a place of respite and solidarity,” as stated on its website.

Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims during his general audience on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When the newly elected pontiff stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to address the Catholic faithful on May 8, his first decision as pope — to take the papal name Leo — signaled the direction he intends to take his papacy in handling certain social questions that need moral guidance, including artificial intelligence (AI).

In his first meeting with the College of Cardinals on May 10, the pope confirmed he took the name to honor Pope Leo XIII, who he said “addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution” with the encyclical Rerum Novarum at the tail end of the 1800s.

The encyclical, which set the foundations for Catholic social teaching, can help guide the Church as it seeks to offer moral insight on “developments in the field of artificial intelligence,” the new pontiff explained, adding that the rise of AI poses “new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”

In the influential encyclical, Leo XIII eschewed both socialism and unrestrained business power, opting for cooperation between competing interests that is centered on the dignity of the human person. Pope Leo XIV’s comments suggest these same principles will shape the Holy Father’s approach to similar questions surrounding AI.

Foundations of Catholic social teaching

Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum on May 15, 1891, at a time when laborers were struggling with poor working conditions amid the industrial revolution and when Marxists were seizing on the discontent to promote radical changes to the social order.

Essentially, Leo XIII was “primarily concerned with laying out … a philosophical or theological anthropology” that focused on “the human person and the dignity of work,” according to Joseph Grabowski, the vice president of evangelization and mission at the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton.

In the encyclical, Leo XIII wrote that there is a need “in drawing the rich and the working class together,” which could be accomplished by “reminding each of its duties to the other” and “of the obligations of justice.”

These obligations to justice include a business owner’s duty to “respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character” and to never “misuse men as though they were things in the pursuit of gain or to value them solely for their physical powers,” Leo XIII taught.

Grabowski told CNA that one of the problems of industrialization was that people were “kind of viewed mechanistically” when working in factories and that the pontiff was reminding factory owners that humans should not be treated as though they are simply “part of a machine.”

Leo XIII also defended the right to private property, which he wrote must “belong to a man in his capacity of head of family” and rebuked Marxist and socialist ideologies, which he thought would disrupt the social order by pitting humans against each other and turning private property into “the common property of all, to be administered by the state or by municipal bodies.”

“It is a most sacred law of nature that a father should provide food and all necessaries for those whom he has begotten,” Leo XIII wrote. “And similarly, it is natural that he should wish that his children, who carry on, so to speak, and continue his personality, should be by him provided with all that is needful to enable them to keep themselves decently from want and misery amid the uncertainties of this mortal life.”

Grabowski said if one were to summarize the encyclical in one line, it would be: “The economy is meant to serve man and not vice versa.”

“Economics and productive work and things like that are all really about man’s nature and serving the highest end of man,” he said, which is to “get to heaven” and live in a “harmonious community.”

Social teachings and AI

Pope Leo XIV’s predecessor Pope Francis already incorporated some elements of Catholic social teaching into the Church’s approach to questions surrounding AI.

In December 2023, Francis urged global leaders to regulate AI toward “the pursuit of peace and the common good” and emphasized that innovations must avoid a “technological dictatorship” and instead be used to serve “the cause of human fraternity and peace.”

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in January released a 30-page “note” that explained that AI lacks “the richness of corporeality, relationality, and the openness of the human heart” and that innovation should spur “a renewed appreciation of all that is human.”

Grabowski told CNA that, as AI continues to advance and the Church formalizes its teachings on the new technology, Leo XIV will be contending with some of the same issues that Leo XIII wrestled with at the turn of the 20th century.

“It’s still a question of: How do we use machinery within economic production in a way to serve man [that] does not subvert man to servitude of the machine?” he said.

AI is already being incorporated into many workplaces, such as the fields of marketing, banking, health care, and coding. The adoption of AI can sometimes improve accuracy and efficiency but is yielding concerns that the technology could replace humans in certain activities.

A May 25 New York Times article noted that some software developers at Amazon are complaining that their work is becoming routine and thoughtless as much of the coding has been automated with AI, while other workers are cheering the increased productivity.

Alternatively, in health care, an October 2024 Forbes article noted that AI is helping doctors find anomalies in patients and link symptoms together to boost the speed and accuracy of medical diagnoses.

Speaking to the AI assistance in the field of medicine, Grabowski said: “There can be benefits there” with the technology helping doctors “look through symptoms and maybe come up with things a human doctor isn’t going to catch onto.”

“We would have no objection to that, but like with everything, a balance is called for,” he said.

In line with some complaints reported at Amazon, Grabowski said “increasingly mechanized work” poses a concern, and with AI, there’s a lot of outsourcing of “the creative process” and “the idea generation process” with the ability of AI to produce art and novels, which he called “somewhat alarming.”

“There is a notion of a right to a meaningful employment for a person [in Leo XIII’s writings],” he added. “To be fulfilled.”

Another principle of Rerum Novarum that can help guide teaching on AI is the concern about a “respect over property, over productive property,” Grabowski noted, highlighting that one issue with AI is “respect for intellectual property rights.”

“There’s great concern over the fact that [AI] isn’t really producing anything itself, so therefore it’s recycling the words and images created by other real people and usually doing so without credit,” he said.

Grabowski said the pontiff’s choice to pick the name Leo is “exciting,” given that the world is in a “very critical point in economic history.” He expressed hope that people will be amenable to the expected moral guidance from the Holy See and referenced a line from G.K. Chesterton’s book “What’s Wrong With The World.” 

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting,” Chesterton wrote. “It has been found difficult and left untried.”

Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims during his general audience on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 29, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

When the newly elected pontiff stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to address the Catholic faithful on May 8, his first decision as pope — to take the papal name Leo — signaled the direction he intends to take his papacy in handling certain social questions that need moral guidance, including artificial intelligence (AI).

In his first meeting with the College of Cardinals on May 10, the pope confirmed he took the name to honor Pope Leo XIII, who he said “addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution” with the encyclical Rerum Novarum at the tail end of the 1800s.

The encyclical, which set the foundations for Catholic social teaching, can help guide the Church as it seeks to offer moral insight on “developments in the field of artificial intelligence,” the new pontiff explained, adding that the rise of AI poses “new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”

In the influential encyclical, Leo XIII eschewed both socialism and unrestrained business power, opting for cooperation between competing interests that is centered on the dignity of the human person. Pope Leo XIV’s comments suggest these same principles will shape the Holy Father’s approach to similar questions surrounding AI.

Foundations of Catholic social teaching

Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum on May 15, 1891, at a time when laborers were struggling with poor working conditions amid the industrial revolution and when Marxists were seizing on the discontent to promote radical changes to the social order.

Essentially, Leo XIII was “primarily concerned with laying out … a philosophical or theological anthropology” that focused on “the human person and the dignity of work,” according to Joseph Grabowski, the vice president of evangelization and mission at the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton.

In the encyclical, Leo XIII wrote that there is a need “in drawing the rich and the working class together,” which could be accomplished by “reminding each of its duties to the other” and “of the obligations of justice.”

These obligations to justice include a business owner’s duty to “respect in every man his dignity as a person ennobled by Christian character” and to never “misuse men as though they were things in the pursuit of gain or to value them solely for their physical powers,” Leo XIII taught.

Grabowski told CNA that one of the problems of industrialization was that people were “kind of viewed mechanistically” when working in factories and that the pontiff was reminding factory owners that humans should not be treated as though they are simply “part of a machine.”

Leo XIII also defended the right to private property, which he wrote must “belong to a man in his capacity of head of family” and rebuked Marxist and socialist ideologies, which he thought would disrupt the social order by pitting humans against each other and turning private property into “the common property of all, to be administered by the state or by municipal bodies.”

“It is a most sacred law of nature that a father should provide food and all necessaries for those whom he has begotten,” Leo XIII wrote. “And similarly, it is natural that he should wish that his children, who carry on, so to speak, and continue his personality, should be by him provided with all that is needful to enable them to keep themselves decently from want and misery amid the uncertainties of this mortal life.”

Grabowski said if one were to summarize the encyclical in one line, it would be: “The economy is meant to serve man and not vice versa.”

“Economics and productive work and things like that are all really about man’s nature and serving the highest end of man,” he said, which is to “get to heaven” and live in a “harmonious community.”

Social teachings and AI

Pope Leo XIV’s predecessor Pope Francis already incorporated some elements of Catholic social teaching into the Church’s approach to questions surrounding AI.

In December 2023, Francis urged global leaders to regulate AI toward “the pursuit of peace and the common good” and emphasized that innovations must avoid a “technological dictatorship” and instead be used to serve “the cause of human fraternity and peace.”

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in January released a 30-page “note” that explained that AI lacks “the richness of corporeality, relationality, and the openness of the human heart” and that innovation should spur “a renewed appreciation of all that is human.”

Grabowski told CNA that, as AI continues to advance and the Church formalizes its teachings on the new technology, Leo XIV will be contending with some of the same issues that Leo XIII wrestled with at the turn of the 20th century.

“It’s still a question of: How do we use machinery within economic production in a way to serve man [that] does not subvert man to servitude of the machine?” he said.

AI is already being incorporated into many workplaces, such as the fields of marketing, banking, health care, and coding. The adoption of AI can sometimes improve accuracy and efficiency but is yielding concerns that the technology could replace humans in certain activities.

A May 25 New York Times article noted that some software developers at Amazon are complaining that their work is becoming routine and thoughtless as much of the coding has been automated with AI, while other workers are cheering the increased productivity.

Alternatively, in health care, an October 2024 Forbes article noted that AI is helping doctors find anomalies in patients and link symptoms together to boost the speed and accuracy of medical diagnoses.

Speaking to the AI assistance in the field of medicine, Grabowski said: “There can be benefits there” with the technology helping doctors “look through symptoms and maybe come up with things a human doctor isn’t going to catch onto.”

“We would have no objection to that, but like with everything, a balance is called for,” he said.

In line with some complaints reported at Amazon, Grabowski said “increasingly mechanized work” poses a concern, and with AI, there’s a lot of outsourcing of “the creative process” and “the idea generation process” with the ability of AI to produce art and novels, which he called “somewhat alarming.”

“There is a notion of a right to a meaningful employment for a person [in Leo XIII’s writings],” he added. “To be fulfilled.”

Another principle of Rerum Novarum that can help guide teaching on AI is the concern about a “respect over property, over productive property,” Grabowski noted, highlighting that one issue with AI is “respect for intellectual property rights.”

“There’s great concern over the fact that [AI] isn’t really producing anything itself, so therefore it’s recycling the words and images created by other real people and usually doing so without credit,” he said.

Grabowski said the pontiff’s choice to pick the name Leo is “exciting,” given that the world is in a “very critical point in economic history.” He expressed hope that people will be amenable to the expected moral guidance from the Holy See and referenced a line from G.K. Chesterton’s book “What’s Wrong With The World.” 

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting,” Chesterton wrote. “It has been found difficult and left untried.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- 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.

Pope Francis established the project in early 2023, saying he wanted "to make a tangible contribution to the development of ecological education by opening a new space for training and raising awareness," according to the Vatican City governor's office.

The project offers tours of the formal gardens to tourists and school groups but also is set up to train gardeners and maintenance workers. 

Pope Francis also turned the papal palace on the town's main square into a museum, which opened in 2016. Many of the townspeople hope the new pope will once again spend at least part of the summer in the villa but there has been no word about that. 

As news spread that the pope was in the hilltop town, visitors to the property May 29 began gathering in the square outside the papal palace, hoping to get a glimpse of the new pope. One Italian woman even tried to get others to join her in shouting encouragement for the pope to come to the window. But they left disappointed.

The Vatican press office confirmed the pope's visit but provided no details or photographs. 

The papal property at Castel Gandolfo extends over 135 acres -- surpassing the 108.7 acres of Vatican City. It includes 74 acres of gardens -- 17 of which are formal gardens -- 62 acres of farmland, three residences and a farm with chickens, hens, rabbits, assorted fowl, cows and a small dairy operation. There are also fruit and olive orchards, vineyards, hayfields, vegetable patches, aromatic herbs, flowerbeds and plants that often are used to decorate the papal apartments and meeting rooms at the Vatican. 

Meeting in September with people involved in the center, Pope Francis noted that they were developing a new vineyard for wine production. "It is intended to act as a synthesis of tradition and innovation, as a 'trademark' of the Borgo," he said.

In November, Pope Francis appointed Father Manuel Dorantes, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago to be administrative management director of the Laudato Si' Center for Higher Education, which is part of the project.

Father Dorantes did not respond to requests for comment about Pope Leo's visit.

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Reporting by CNS Rome is made possible by the Catholic Communication Campaign. Give to the CCC special collection in your diocese May 31-June 1 or any time at: https://bit.ly/CCC-give
 

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