ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV prayed Wednesday for the world to recognize the urgency of the climate crisis and “hear the cry of the poor,” as he celebrated the first papal Mass using a new set of prayers and readings inspired by Pope Francis’ environmental legacy.

Pope Leo XIV is also enacting a plan to build a solar farm that would make Vatican City the world’s first carbon-neutral state. View on euronews

"We must pray for the conversion of many people, inside and outside of the church, who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home."

The Mass, in the gardens of the Vatican’s new ecological educational center at the papal summer estate in Castel Gandolfo, indicated a strong line of ecological continuity with Pope Francis , who made environmental protection a hallmark of his pontificate.