Pope Francis’ highly anticipated encyclical on ecology will be reportedly entitled ‘Laudato Sii’. Latin for ‘Praised Be To You’, the title is taken from St. Francis’ ‘Canticle of the Sun’, a hymn of praise to God for His creations written in 1224.
Initial reports of the title were revealed on Twitter by several journalists during an event in honor of the Vatican publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV).
When asked about the title by Religious Information Service (SIR), Fr. Giuseppe Costa, director of the LEV confirmed the name as well as saying that it already is generating international interest.
“There are many publishers abroad who are already interested in the publication in their countries,” he said.
Although the director told SIR that the encyclical will be released in mid-June, several news sources on Twitter specified June 16th as the exact day of the encyclical’s release.
As of yet, no official statement regarding the encyclical’s title or publishing date has been released by the Holy See. Back in January, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, told journalists that he believed the encyclical would be released “before the summer.”
