St. Jeanne de Lestonnac FFA students work on Laudato Si Garden

On Sept. 7, St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School students who are also members of the National Nonprofit Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization joined in a project to clean and prepare the soon-to-be christened “Laudato Si Garden.” Creating the “Laudato Si Garden” on campus was inspired by Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration of the “Borgo Laudato Si” ecology project on the grounds of Castel Gandolfo, on the outskirts of Rome. On Sept. 5, Pope Leo XIV officially inaugurated Borgo Laudato Si’, a new educational and economic project located on the papal property in Castel Gandolfo, dedicated to Pope Francis’ vision of integral ecology. Castel Gandolfo is an expansive complex of buildings and gardens acquired by the Holy See and has historically served as the summer residence for Popes. Although at very different scales, the Borgo Laudato Si and FFA student’s “Laudato Si Garden” will share many of the same objectives such as, regenerative agriculture and the sharing of the bounties of the earth.