Pope Francis entrusts the Laudato Si' Centre for Higher Education with the task of offering the world a tangible and replicable sign of the principles contained in the Encyclical Laudato Si'. Not just the written word, but a concrete demonstration of the ecological conversion that is urgently needed.
The summer residence of the Popes becomes a place for training in integral ecology, environmental sustainability and the circular and generative economy. A botanical variety of inestimable value, some of the most significant archaeological evidence from the 1st century B.C., centuries of history of the Catholic Church, a heritage to be preserved, enhanced and shared with all those who wish to live an immersive experience of Laudato Si' and make their own contribution to the care of Creation.
P. Fabio Baggio, Director General of the Laudato Si' Centre for Higher Education and Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD), explains that "following the example of St. Francis, the Laudato Si' Village is a home for all, especially for those who live in fragility, a place where limitation, pain, failure can become a cornerstone on which to build a model of inclusive community that is generative of a new integral human development".
It is no coincidence that the first training activity realised in Borgo Laudato Si' is the course for gardeners and greenskeepers, aimed at people in vulnerable situations: refugees and migrants, people with different abilities, ex-convicts, women survivors of violence, young people and unemployed adults.
Around 100 candidates attended the selection day of the course organized by the Centre for Advanced Training in partnership with the social cooperative Percorsi di Cittadinanza. The 10 selected completed a two-month training period, carried out partly in the classroom and partly in the field. Among them were also three unaccompanied minors. The countries of origin were Italy, Iraq, Senegal, Cameroon, Iran, Morocco, Ghana and Albania.
Furthermore, Fr Fabio Baggio emphasizes that 'taking care of trees, plants, gardens, knowing their names, their characteristics, their needs is a new way of understanding the world' and adds that 'we have witnessed a small Copernican revolution: complex lives that are all too often defined by their past, by their downfalls, here are above all people who learn because it has been decided to invest in their training. This simple act of trust, for many of them new and overwhelming, is the seed of that human and ecological conversion that Pope Francis is asking of humanity'.
In September, a new training stage begins: each of the 10 selected who participated in the first stage is assigned a professional training period in companies and enterprises dealing with gardening and green maintenance. The course, which will continue to be accompanied by the Laudato Si' Higher Education Centre, will end with an actual job placement.
To find out more about the Laudato Si' Centre for Higher Education and the Borgo Laudato Si' project
The Borgo Laudato Sì is one of the recommended stops for Jubilee 2025 pilgrims.
