Around 200 people experiencing social vulnerability from the Diocese of Rome will take part on Saturday, 11 July, in the event “Lunch with the Pope”, a day of welcome and fraternity at Borgo Laudato si’, within the Pontifical Gardens of Castel Gandolfo.

The programme includes the celebration of the Eucharist with the Liturgy for the Care of Creation, a moment of welcome and refreshment, a guided tour to discover Borgo Laudato si’, and will culminate with a shared lunch with Pope Leo XIV.

The initiative originates from the experience of 17 August 2025, when the Holy Father shared lunch with people experiencing poverty from the Diocese of Albano. This experience gave rise to an annual event promoted by the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education, which oversees the development of the Borgo Laudato si’ project.

Each year, a diocese will be invited to involve people living in situations of poverty, refugees, migrants, and others experiencing social vulnerability, offering them a day immersed in the beauty of creation and the opportunity to meet the Holy Father.

This year’s edition carries particular ecclesial significance, as it is the result of collaboration between the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education, the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, and the Diocese of Rome. These institutions are jointly promoting a single pastoral initiative, involving the main ecclesial and social organisations that work daily alongside people experiencing vulnerability in the capital.

“Borgo Laudato si’ was created to show that the care of creation and the care of the human person are one and the same mission,” states H.Em. Cardinal Fabio Baggio, Director General of the Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education. “After Lampedusa, this day represents a new step in Pope Leo XIV’s journey towards the social peripheries of our time. At Borgo Laudato si’, the Holy Father meets people experiencing vulnerability, reaffirming that the Church is called to inhabit the places where human dignity calls for listening, closeness, and hope.”

This journey embodies the Church’s service to the poor, emphasises H.E. Monsignor Luis Marín de San Martín, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, stating:

“The Holy Father’s choice confirms that charity consists of closeness, encounter, and sharing. When the Church places the most vulnerable people at the centre, it makes the Gospel visible and bears witness that no one is on the margins of God’s heart.”

For this reason, explains H.Em. Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Vicar General of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome: “We wanted the protagonists of this day to be people who are accompanied every day by parishes, Caritas, and the many ecclesial and social organisations of the Diocese of Rome. The encounter with the Holy Father restores centrality to those who too often remain on the margins and calls the entire Christian community to the responsibility of welcome.”

With this initiative, Borgo Laudato si’, thanks to Pope Leo XIV, once again presents itself to the world as a place where formation, integral ecology, and human promotion become concrete experiences of encounter, participation, and faith.

A special expression of gratitude goes to the ecclesial and social organisations that accompany the participants in their daily lives through their constant service of proximity:

• ACSE
• ACLI of Rome
• Tabor International Association
• Basilica of Saint Sophia
• Caritas of the Diocese of Rome
• Centro Astalli
• Community of Sant’Egidio
• Social Cooperative Percorsi di Cittadinanza
• Santa Marta Paediatric Dispensary
• Vincentian Family
• Le Opere del Padre
• Contemplative Missionaries of Mother Teresa
• Parish of San Basilio (Rome)
• Parish of San Giuseppe Cottolengo (Rome)
• Parish of San Gregorio VII (Rome)
• Parish of Saints Mario and Companions Martyrs (Rome)
• Community of the Santa Croce Occupied Building (Rome)

The Laudato si’ Centre for Higher Education, the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, and the Diocese of Rome also extend their heartfelt thanks to “Ristorante L’Isola della Pizza” in Rome, which generously offered the lunch, and to “Bar Al Duomo” in Albano Laziale, which provided the welcome breakfast, contributing through their generosity to the success of the day.