June 10, 2015
Ezo owl chicks sit in a tree just after leaving their nest on Hokkaido Island, Japan, June 11, 2014. Pope Francis plans to issue an encyclical on the environment later this year. (CNS photo/Kimimasa Mayama, EPA)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment will not be released with a formal Latin title, but rather a medieval Italian one.
In its first official comment on the title, the Vatican press office said June 10 that the document will be called, “Laudato Si’: On the Care of Our Common Home.” Earlier, reporters used the modern “sii” for the phrase which translates “praised be.”
Using the same Italian spelling used by St. Francis of Assisi, the opening phrase of the title, “Laudato si’,” is the introductory phrase to eight verses of the saint’s famous prayer thanking God for the gifts of creation.