On Saturday, May 23, 2026, the Holy Father visited Acerra, a town in the Campania region of southern Italy, famous as the birthplace of Pulcinella, the iconic mask of the Commedia dell’Arte and Neapolitan culture worldwide. However, decades of illegal dumping and the burial of toxic waste have severely polluted the area’s soil and water. This toxic impact has led to a high incidence of cancer, as evidenced by data from the Cancer Registry, which places Acerra among the most affected areas in the region.
This is why the Pope met with families who were victims of pollution and told everyone present: “The cry of creation and of the poor among you has been heard more dramatically, due to a deadly concentration of obscure interests and indifference to the common good, which has poisoned the natural and social environment. It is a cry that demands conversion!” ( ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER, Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Acerra) )
Toward the end of the visit, at 10:30 a.m. in Piazza Calipari, a meeting was held with the mayors and faithful of the various municipalities of the “Land of Fires.” Thus, in front of more than fifteen thousand people, during the thanksgiving ceremony by His Excellency Antonio Di Donna, Bishop of Acerra, a white skullcap was presented to the Holy Father. Pope Leo XIV wore the new zucchetto and, after signing the one he had just removed, left it to the diocese.
Along with the skullcap, the Pope was also presented with a statue and a holographic letter from Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori. The statue, entirely handcrafted according to Neapolitan artistic tradition, depicts him composing one of his works of moral theology. The saint’s holographic letter was kept in the diocesan Alphonsian Museum.
(Scala News and the newspaper La Repubblica of Naples, May 23, 2026)
