Vatican City has now joined just seven other nations that run entirely on renewable energy, following Pope Francis’ push to eliminate the use of fossil fuels within the tiny city-state. This milestone is being achieved through a vast 430-hectare solar farm at Santa Maria di Galeria—Vatican-owned land outside Rome—which will generate all the electricity the Vatican needs, with surplus energy supplied back to nearby communities. Additional solar installations, including photovoltaic roofing on Vatican buildings, further strengthen its clean-energy transition.
The initiative forms part of the Pope’s broader commitment to climate neutrality and moral leadership on environmental action. In his 2024 letter Brother Sun, Francis urged the global community to accelerate the shift to renewables, calling it both an ethical duty and a practical necessity. By fully electrifying the Vatican with solar power and other renewable sources, the Holy See demonstrates how even small nations can take bold steps toward a carbon-free future—and set a precedent for larger, more energy-intensive countries. More