Pope Francis has ordered the construction of a solar power plant to supply the Vatican's electricity needs. He did so with the apostolic letter in the form of Motu proprio Fratello Sole, published in Italian on May 26, 2024. He presents his decision as an example in the fight against global warming, "one of the main causes of which is the omnipresent use of fossil fuels."
The Pope has taken this initiative on the ninth anniversary of the encyclical Laudato si', a text on integral ecology that the pontiff signed on May 24, 2015. Like Laudato si', the name of the Motu proprio Fratello Sole ('Brother Sun') is taken from St. Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Creatures. The aim is to comply with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to which the Vatican acceded to in 2022.
In the Motu proprio, the Pope orders the construction of an "agrivoltaic installation," i.e. a field of solar panels under which the land is cultivated for agriculture. This structure will be installed in the extraterritorial zone of Santa Maria di Galeria, a rural commune 19 miles northwest of the Vatican.
By virtue of an update to the Lateran Treaty signed in 1951, the Holy See owns 424 hectares of land in this commune. Pope Pius XII installed a radio station for Vatican media on this land in 1957. The solar power plant is intended not only to power these antennas, but also "to ensure the entire energy subsistence of the Vatican City State," says the Pope.
Electrical conversion
The Pope has entrusted this mission to Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and to Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which manages the Holy See's real estate assets. The pontiff also appointed extraordinary commissioners to facilitate communications with the Italian state.
The Holy See launched the conversion of its vehicle fleet to electric power in November 2023, with the aim of completing this transition — which includes the installation of charging stations in the small state — by 2030.
