Vatican introduces new mass – "for the care of creation"

From now on, Catholics worldwide can celebrate a mass focussing on the protection of the environment. By decree, the Vatican has included the "Mass for the Care of Creation" (Latin: Missa pro custodia creationis) in its official missal. "With this Mass, the Church offers liturgical, spiritual and communal support for the care we must all take of nature, our common home," said Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development, at the presentation on Thursday in the Vatican.

"It calls us to be faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us, in our daily decisions and in politics, as well as in prayer, worship and the way we live in the world," Czerny continued. Pope Leo XIV is to celebrate the new mass for the first time next week in Castel Gandolfo.

Ten years of the encyclical "Laudato si'"

The introduction of the new Mass coincides almost exactly with the tenth anniversary of the publication of "Laudato si'". In this encyclical, Pope Francis called for more intensive efforts to protect the environment and promote social justice. The current decree, which was signed on 8 June, quotes from the letter: "Today it is obvious that the work of creation is seriously threatened by the irresponsible use and abuse of the goods that God has entrusted to us." For this reason, it seems appropriate to add the form "for the care of creation" to the missal.

It contains various biblical texts based on this theme. At the beginning of the Mass, it says "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands". The prayer of thanksgiving after receiving communion reads: "May the sacrament of unity that we have received, Father, strengthen communion with you and among us, so that while we wait for the new heaven and the new earth, we may learn to live in harmony with all creatures. Through Christ our Lord." (KNA)