“We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental.” — Pope Francis, Laudato Si’

We began our time in Rome at the Food and Agriculture Organization Museum, where we were welcomed by a U.S. diplomat and another official serving with the U.S. Mission to the FAO. We explored global food systems, the challenge of feeding a world of eight billion people, and what a career in international diplomacy can offer. For those interested in diplomacy, it was a glimpse into a meaningful life of international service, one that requires both curiosity and patience in navigating large institutions.

We then stood before the Colosseum, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Built at the height of the Roman Empire, it was also a place where countless people suffered and died for entertainment. Standing there invites us to reflect on how far humanity has come, and on our responsibility to ensure we never return to such barbarity.

Our final stop was Borgo Laudato Si’ at Castel Gandolfo, a remarkable ecological village inspired by Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’. Pope Francis chose his papal name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, whose profound sense of the interconnectedness of all life and reverence for nature helped shape the Pope’s vision of caring for our common home. Borgo Laudato Si’ reflects that same spirit. Through gardens, farmland, and thousands of plants, it offers a hopeful vision of how humanity can live in greater harmony with one another and with the Earth.