{"id":61614,"date":"2025-07-25T13:06:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T11:06:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/?p=61614"},"modified":"2025-07-25T13:06:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T11:06:53","slug":"care-for-creation-its-roots-in-medieval-monasticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2025\/07\/25\/care-for-creation-its-roots-in-medieval-monasticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Care for Creation: Its Roots in Medieval Monasticism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"care<\/p>\n

Medieval monasticism<\/strong> and the care for creation<\/strong> as a gift from God. We discuss the topic with Francesco Salvestrini<\/strong>, a medieval historian based in Florence.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

On July 9, Pope Leo XIV<\/strong> celebrated a Mass dedicated to the care for creation<\/b><\/mark>.<\/p>\n

The initiative made some people raise an eyebrow<\/strong>, with critics describing it<\/a><\/em><\/strong> as “environmentalist ideology” or even an “ecologist Mass”.<\/p>\n

In his off-the-cuff homily, the Holy Father called<\/a><\/em><\/strong> on the faithful: \u201cWe must pray for the conversion<\/strong> of many people, both inside and outside the Church<\/strong>, who still do not recognise the urgency<\/strong> of caring for our common home.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

But is the Church\u2019s and the Pope\u2019s call for the stewardship and care for creation<\/strong> really the product of an environmentalist ideology \u2014 more pagan than Christian?<\/p>\n

When Pope Francis<\/strong> in Laudato Si’<\/i> urged<\/a><\/em><\/strong> us to \u201clive out our vocation to be protectors of God\u2019s handiwork\u201d<\/i>, and when Leo<\/strong> called<\/a><\/em><\/strong> for \u201cnew and effective ways to safeguard the nature entrusted to us\u201d<\/i>, were they giving in to modernist thinking?<\/p>\n

In fact, this concern for the care of creation as a gift from God has deep roots<\/strong> within the Church, long before anyone was even thinking about it.<\/p>\n

In Christian medieval times<\/strong>, monks \u201cwere already balancing colonisation with respect for the environment<\/strong>, viewing the forest and other uncultivated areas as integral parts of their spiritual garden\u201d<\/i>1<\/a><\/sup>F. Salvestrini<\/b>, The Monastic Garden<\/i>, in P. Caraffi and P. Pirillo, “\u00abPrati, verzieri e pomieri\u00bb. The Medieval Garden. Cultures, Ideals, Societies<\/i>, Edifir 2017, p. 117<\/span>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Care for Creation: An Interview with a Medieval Historian<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

We discussed all this with Francesco Salvestrini<\/strong><\/mark>, full professor of Medieval History at the University of Florence and a leading expert on medieval monasticism. We put a few questions<\/strong> to him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

QUESTION – Professor, your research shows that medieval monasteries had a deep and respectful relationship with the natural world. Was this solely driven by the need to extract resources, or was there a deeper awareness of creation\u2019s value?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

ANSWER – That\u2019s a complex question.<\/p>\n

Benedictine monks<\/strong> had a profound respect for Creation<\/strong> because it was the work of God. But they also firmly believed that nature had been created to serve mankind<\/strong>, God\u2019s favoured and privileged creature. Man was expected to use natural resources respectfully.<\/p>\n

Plants and animals often served as examples or metaphors of moral qualities<\/strong> (or even of vices and sin) which the monk was expected to observe and learn from.<\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s true that the major monasteries didn\u2019t hesitate to alter the environment<\/strong> for economic and productive purposes, since Nature was not considered \u201cgood\u201d in itself<\/strong> (forests were often believed to be inhabited by demons) \u2014 it only became so after contemplatives brought in their expressions of \u201ccivilisation\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The Monks and Care for Creation: Not an \u201cIntegral Ecology\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

QUESTION – So the idea of caring for creation wasn\u2019t seen as a value in and of itself? Some sort of proto-\u201cintegral ecology\u201d that some even ascribe to Saint Francis of Assisi?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

ANSWER – We cannot speak of ecological awareness<\/strong> among monks (nor among the friars minor, for that matter). Nature held no value in itself, but only as an expression of divine love.<\/p>\n

To speak of integral ecology<\/strong> in relation to monasticism is meaningless<\/strong>. Monks, especially Benedictines, consistently altered the landscapes where they settled, because working the land was a central expression of their consecrated way of life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

QUESTION – Some fear the urgency expressed by Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV regarding the care for creation is simply a trend or submission to environmentalist ideology. Can a rediscovery of monastic ecology help restore a balanced view of nature?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

ANSWER – No doubt, the legitimate and necessary positions taken today by the Church\u2019s top representatives regarding environmental protection<\/strong> are influenced by the appeal of ecological movements. That said, I also believe it is right for the Supreme Pontiffs to speak to modern audiences using modern language<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Monasticism, however, never meant that wild nature should be left untouched, since man could not live in a wild nature. As Bernard of Clairvaux<\/strong> said, nature was a book to be read \u2014 a reality to be lived and engaged with<\/strong> in accordance with the laws God set for man\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The Monastic Balance: Care and Use of Nature<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

QUESTION – When Leo XIV calls on us to \u201clive in harmony with creation, which is healing and reconciliation for us,\u201d do you see that as a modern idea or something present in medieval texts?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

ANSWER – Creation\u2019s harmony is a source of consolation<\/strong> and reconciliation for humankind. Monks, as well as Francis of Assisi<\/strong>, found in nature the very essence of life \u2014 and in immersing themselves in it, they felt closer to God.<\/p>\n

But this immersion in nature was not passive contemplation<\/strong>; it was a call to action, to engage with creation, to sanctify through work the sacred space (understood as sacer<\/em>, even in its negative sense) of deserts and forests.<\/p>\n

Nature existed for man<\/strong>, and man had to manage it just as he would his own home or estate (redde rationem villicationis tuae<\/em>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

QUESTION – In one of your works, you mention the \u201cspiritual garden\u201d the monks saw in the forest. Can you explain that idea?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

ANSWER – The forest<\/strong> was in some sense a spiritual garden, although it held more importance for hermit movements (for whom it was a sanctuary) than for cenobitic orders, which often settled near urban areas.<\/p>\n

Monks were not always just land-clearers (not even the Cistercians). Forests and meadows could also acquire productive importance<\/strong> and needed to be cared for<\/strong> just like fields, orchards, pastures, or gardens. The monastic garden was a product of domesticated nature<\/strong>, not wild nature.<\/p>\n

Only after human intervention did nature take on the qualities of sacred space<\/strong> (that is, space institutionally dedicated to the good). The work of the founding fathers \u2014 from Benedict to Romuald of Ravenna, from Robert of Molesme to Saint Bernard \u2014 makes this clear.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

QUESTION – If you had to summarise one key message that medieval monasteries offer us today about the human-environment relationship, what would it be?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

ANSWER – The environment is God\u2019s Creation, made so that it might support human life<\/strong>. Living in harmony with the environment means living more peacefully with oneself and drawing closer to God<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Almighty \u201cspeaks\u201d to humanity through nature, and we must learn to read the great pages of the book of the world to rediscover true harmony<\/strong> between the ecosystem and our inner selves. Yet the environment can also be harsh and dangerous, and humanity has both the right and the duty<\/strong> to manage and \u201ctame\u201d it \u2014 and in doing so, to find meaning in earthly life.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Read<\/strong> all our other \u201cFriday Interviews\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/mark><\/em>.<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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