Pope Leo XIV Dedicates New Vatican Library Building on Birthday

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Faith Desk

In Short: Cardinal Michael Czerny, former prefect of the Vatican’s human development office, will receive the first Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal from the pope on October 14, 2026.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, former prefect of the Vatican’s human development office, will receive the first Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal from the pope on October 14, 2026, according to reports. The medal, established by Villanova University and named after Pope Leo XIV, recognizes individuals who have worked toward ecological sustainability.

In his speech accepting the honor, Czerny cited Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, saying the pope highlighted the need for shared responsibility in achieving sustainability. Speaking to EWTN News after the conference, Czerny noted that many AI companies building data centers often do not consult residents before building on their land.

At a Vatican press conference on September 14, 2026, Father Peter Donohue, OSA, president of Villanova University, made the announcement. Donohue praised Czerny’s “extraordinary passion for justice, human dignity, and the care of creation,” noting that his witness is an apt reminder of what authentic sustainability is.

Pope Leo XIV marked his 71st birthday on Monday by giving Vatican employees a financial reprieve, with the Vatican publishing a papal decree that repealed salary cuts imposed in 2021 as part of the Holy See’s COVID-19 cost-saving measures. In a separate move, Leo also cancelled Pope Francis’ plan to shift some of the Vatican’s secret archives and library holdings outside Vatican City.

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“His witness reminds us that authentic sustainability is never solely about environmental stewardship. It is also about accompanying those who suffer, defending the dignity of the human person, and building a future that leaves no one behind,” Donohue said.
Press conference on the Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal recipient at the Sala San Pio X in Rome on Sept. 14, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News “[The pope] has made responsibility even more explicit. We are responsible for the world, not just to take care of it, even though it would be part of sustainability, but in fact we are building it,” the cardinal said.
Instead, he ordered a new building to be constructed within the city state to house the growing collection.
In the decree on salaries, Leo said the pay-curbing measures “can now be overcome, in the certainty that the institutions of the Holy See and the Vatican City State will continue, through various means, their commitment to ensuring economic sustainability”.
Leo said that “unprecedented opportunities have arisen to create new spaces” within Vatican City itself, and ordered a new building on a current parking lot to house the material, including ancient manuscripts and full archival collections from past popes, religious congregations and benefactors.
Leo visited the Vatican Apostolic Library on Monday and said it was especially fitting to celebrate his birthday with its staff because his mother had been a librarian.
The pandemic had also forced the Vatican Museums to shut for months, cutting off one of the Holy See’s main sources of revenue.

Sources

National Catholic Registerlink