Acerra, Italian city in polluted ‘land of the fires,’ prepares to welcome Pope Leo

May 23, 2026

Pope Leo XIV today is making of pastoral visit to Acerra, a southern Italian city of 60,000 known for its Mafia-linked toxic waste pollution.

Pope Francis was scheduled to visit the city on May 24, 2020, to mark the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’, his encyclical letter on care for our common home, and later canceled the visit because of the COVID-related lockdowns. In his Regina Caeli address that day, he said:

Today I was supposed to go to Acerra to support the faith of that population and the commitment of those who are working to counter the drama of pollution in the so-called “Land of Fire”. My visit has been postponed. However, I send my greetings, my blessing and my encouragement to the Bishop, the priests, the families and the entire diocesan community, as we look forward to meeting each other as soon as possible. I will go there, for sure!

In an article published yesterday in the Vatican newspaper, Bishop Antonio Di Donna of Acerra, president of the Campania Episcopal Conference, wrote that Pope Leo “will confirm our local Church in its age-old vocation: that of harmonizing the preaching of the Gospel with the promotion of the human person. For safeguarding creation and protecting human life from the pollution of our common Home represent both an urgent imperative and a sacred duty for the faithful.”

Bishop Di Donna recalled that the land once known as Campania felix (happy Campania), with three harvests per year, is now known as terre dei fuochi (land of fires) because of the pollution.

Catechesis in peace, justice, and environmental stewardship, he wrote, is “essential to remedy the environmental degradation—caused in recent decades primarily by the illegal dumping and burial of hazardous waste, as well as by toxic fires, often linked to the underground labor market.”

“The Pontiff’s visit will serve as a special caress from God for those families tragically struck by this environmental and humanitarian crisis, a crisis that has claimed the lives of their children and young loved ones,” Bishop Di Donna added.

 

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Further information:

• Leone XIV in visita pastorale ad Acerra (L'Osservatore Romano, 5/22/26)
• Il grido di dolore delle vittime impone una risposta urgente al degrado ambientale (L'Osservatore Romano, 5/22/26)
• Pope Leo visits Italy’s ‘Land of Fires’ as families seek justice for children lost to toxic waste (AP, 5/23/26)