Pope Leo XIV has formally instituted the Fratello Sole Foundation through a chirograph dated June 1, 2026, to oversee the construction and operation of an agrivoltaic plant at the Vatican’s extraterritorial zone of Santa Maria di Galeria. The initiative aims to supply electricity to the Vatican Radio transmission centre while securing the complete energy self-sufficiency of Vatican City State.
The move advances a project first mandated by Pope Francis in his apostolic letter Fratello Sole, issued motu proprio on June 21, 2024. That document appointed the president of the Governorate of Vatican City State and the president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See as extraordinary commissioners to carry out the work. A bilateral agreement with Italian authorities, signed on July 31, 2025, entered into force on May 27, 2026, clearing the legal path for development on the site.
