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Pope Francis’ gives encouragement to the ‘Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education Agriculture
that respects the ecosystem and biodiversity
in the private library of the Vatican Apostolic Palace
Thursday, 19 September 2024
Dear brothers, Father Baggio,
and all collaborators of the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education!
Thank you for your commitment to this new project. And I would like to take this opportunity to reflect together with gratitude on the journey we have made so far.
In order to make visible and concrete the desire to promote ecological conversion, I thought of creating a tangible model of thought, structure and action, which I called Borgo Laudato si’.
And I felt that the facilities and outbuildings of the Villas of Castel Gandolfo were the right place to host this kind of “laboratory” for experimenting with formative content.
To this end, at the beginning of 2023 I established the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education, as a body for scientific, educational and social activity. It is endowed with its own patrimonial, technical, administrative and accounting autonomy, and works for the integral formation of the person in the context of a sustainable economy and according to the principles of the Encyclical Laudato si’.
In the months following its constitution, the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education about developing the “Borgo” project. With the help of high-level national and international experts of the highest level, the Centre outlined the three main directions of the project: inclusive education in integral ecology, the circular and generative economy, and environmental sustainability.
After months of intensive work, the Board of the Centre for Higher presented me with the result: a complex, multifaceted project that encompasses various aspects of integral ecology.
One of the essential elements is undoubtedly agriculture, which in Borgo Laudato si’ will be characterized by its sustainability and diversification, investing in infrastructure, irrigation systems and the development of agricultural techniques that respect the ecosystem and biodiversity..
The Borgo’s agricultural project includes the development of a new vineyard for wine production. It is intended to be a synthesis of tradition and innovation, as a ‘trademark’ of the Borgo.
Here too, the Centre for Higher Education has sought the advice of some of the world’s leading experts in the pursuit of excellence. It is very important not to remain “average”, because the average is the path to mediocrity. Always strive for excellence.
I was particularly pleased to see that both the cultivation and the agricultural production, especially the vineyard, are very labor-intensive. This is in keeping with the intention expressed at the beginning of the meeting to work for the restoration of good and fruitful relations between the human family and creation, through work that cares for and values what has been entrusted to us by the Creator.
Dear friends, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you who are collaborating in various ways in this important project. I am sure that the fruits of this collaboration will well represent the principles of integral ecology which I wished to highlight in the Encyclical Laudato si’ and in the Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum. Go forth! I cordially bless you and your work. And do not forget to pray for me – in favor!!
