Breaking Down Pope Leo's Call to Environmental Stewardship on Earth Day

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On April 22, people across the United States and the rest of the world celebrates Earth Day.

First officially held on April 22, 1970, Earth Day has continually commemorated a commitment to conservation and ecological awareness, with many organizations encouraging water conservation, voluntary energy blackouts and calls for global climate education.

Christians share a special dedication to these ideals, as we are called to care for our common home and to stewardship.

Just as his predecessor Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV has shown extraordinary dedication to ecological stewardship throughout his papacy.

On July 9, 2025, Pope Leo XIV celebrated a historic new liturgy: the Mass for the Care of Creation, meant to emphasize the Catholic Church’s desire to foster a stewardship attitude toward the environment.

Later, on September 5, 2025, Pope Leo XIV officially inaugurated Borgo Laudato Si’, a comprehensive integral ecology center located in Castel Gandolfo in Rome. As the Holy Father walked the 135 acres of vivid green gardens, splendid villas, agricultural developments and archeological sites, his commitment to the center’s mission to further global integral ecology education and contribute to environmental sustainability measures was apparent.

More recently, on November 17, 2025, the Holy Father again emphasized his stance on integral ecology in a video message at the UN Climate Conference in Belém, Brazil, stating that “creation is crying out” and challenging UN leaders to take concrete steps to address global climate-related problems.

What specifically is “integral ecology”?

How ought the faithful respond to Pope Leo XIV’s call for deeper ecological concern, and what sort of connection exists between Catholicism and the act of caring for our common home?

What is Integral Ecology?

The term ‘integral ecology’ has been used by authors concerned with ecology and environmental action since the 1960s, but is perhaps most famous for its appearance in Pope Francis’s pivotal 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’.

According to the encyclical, “integral ecology” refers to a particular holistic approach to ecology that emphasizes the interrelation of social, humanitarian and environmental concerns. Such a field would call attention to harmful environmental practices like waste accumulation, increased carbon dioxide emissions and water source pollution while simultaneously stressing the importance of vital processes like carbon dioxide regulation, water purification and waste management.

In the words of Laudato Si’:

“Since everything is closely interrelated, and today’s problems call for a vision capable of taking into account every aspect of the global crisis, I suggest that we now consider some elements of an integral ecology, one which clearly respects its human and social dimensions” (139).

Based on the overarching framework of integral ecology, Laudato Si’ establishes an outline for change comprised of four considerations: the need for environmental ecology, economic ecology, social ecology and cultural ecology.

The encyclical then discusses the concept of “environment,” which is essential to understanding how to propagate an integral ecology.

In this context, “environment” is not a term limited to biological constraints but rather conveys the interplay between the natural world and the often mechanistic world of human experience.

Rather than drawing distinctions between these two seemingly different aspects of life on Earth, Laudato Si’ stresses the importance of realizing that human beings are an integral part of the natural world, stating, “We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it” (139).

How is Integral Ecology related to Christianity?

In his recent address to the UN Climate Conference in Belém, Pope Leo XIV discussed his belief that cultivating an integral ecology is not only consistent with Catholic principles but encouraged by them, stating, “As stewards of God’s creation, we are called to act swiftly, with faith and prophecy, to protect the gift he entrusted to us.”

This sentiment is in lockstep with the vision laid out in Laudato Si’, which states that environmental awareness and action are not only important as an exercise of stewardship but are a profoundly important facet of cultivating the common good, which the Church defines as “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfilment” (Gaudium et Spes 26).

This differs dramatically from the “greater good,” a more commonly understood though Utilitarian concept. While the “greater good” prioritizes the most good for the most significant number (the good of the majority), the “common good” affirms the dignity of each individual. The “common good” never allows the needs of the few to be sacrificed for the needs of the many, seeking to maximize justice and wellbeing for all rather than simply the majority by constructing the social conditions for flourishing rather than engaging in indifferent moral calculation.

It is out of concern for the common good that Pope Leo XIV appeals for greater environmental stewardship.

The Holy Father’s concerns are certainly not without precedent, and his dedication to environmental justice places him in a long and varied tradition within the Church of expressing concern for the natural world, stretching back through the teachings of Pope Francis to those of St. Francis of Assisi and beyond.

How ought Catholics respond to Pope Leo XIV’s call for informed environmental stewardship?

In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis speaks on the importance of implementing integral ecology in daily life, stating, “Authentic development includes efforts to bring about an integral improvement in the quality of human life, and this entails considering the setting in which people live their lives” (Laudato Si’ 147).

As Catholics, we are called to be stewards of creation, to care for the common good and to prioritize the teachings of Christ.

Integral ecology does not simply posit an isolated cause in favor of maintaining global biodiversity (although this is an essential aspect) but a vision that encompasses the way we, as stewards, ought to live in proximity to God’s creation.

Pope Leo XIV calls for dialogue, fostering a greater understanding of the needs of our environment and the need for “ecological conversion”, which aims to transform the lives of believers and non-believers alike toward a genuine awareness of the challenges facing God’s creation.

It is apparent that the Church is now, more than ever, calling for increased awareness of conservation needs.

Perhaps this Earth Day is a convenient moment to meditate on care for our common home.

If we profess to love God, how could we not love and care for his creation?