By Christina Bagaglio Slentz, Ph.D.
With over half of our parishes solarized and divestment from fossil fuels accomplished, Bishop Michael Pham is adding a new Diocese of San Diego initiative in response to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. We have named this initiative “Common Home, Common Ground,” or CHCG. Moved by what he observed while visiting the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) Laudato Si’ Farm in Tagaytay, Philippines, Bishop Pham is asking every parish and school to reflect on how we can engage with the land we steward, gardening and farming our Catholic land to sow beauty and feed our community.
Bigger than Texas!
The Catholic Church owns about 177 million acres of land worldwide, making it the largest non-governmental landowner on Earth. That is larger than France, the largest country in Europe, and bigger than Texas, the largest state in the continental United States.
Certainly, stewarding this property comes with great responsibility and, as the gift of creation is naturally life-giving, this land offers great potential for the promotion of human flourishing, especially helping our brothers and sisters in need. In Tagaytay, they not only foster eco-spirituality on the beautiful grounds, but also grow food.
Pope Leo launched Borgo Laudato Si’, an educational and economic project located on the papal grounds in Castel Gandolfo. The project teaches sustainable farming, in particular to students from vulnerable communities.
With almost 100 parishes and approximately 50 school campuses, what might the diocese do with the land we steward?
The diocesan Pastoral Center, for example, sits on about 5.5 acres, and, of course, the building and parking take up a good bit of space, but it is not unreasonable to think that one acre could be set aside for gardening/farming.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, one acre of land can grow a variety of crops, including 50,000 pounds of strawberries or 46.4 bushels of wheat — that’s a lot of strawberry shortcake! If each parish and school set aside one acre, coming to 150 acres altogether, the bureau contends 3.75 million pounds of potatoes could be grown per year — enough to feed over 60,000 people for a year.
A growing need and a bishop’s vision
This June 1, legislative changes to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), also known as “CalFresh,” have left an estimated 90,000 San Diegans suddenly stripped of food aid. As Imperial County has one of the highest CalFresh participation rates in the state, this half of our diocese is likely experiencing a similar if not worse impact than the San Diego side. Consequently, Catholic Charities of San Diego expects these changes will soon result in an urgent need for emergency food assistance across our diocese.
The “Common Home, Common Ground” initiative asks us how we, the Catholic community, might re-connect with Our Sister, Mother Earth, recognizing the gift of life that sits in our hands. Might we grow the flowers that adorn our altars? What kind of savings might that achieve, and what plastic containers might be avoided in the process? Might we venture into planting fruit trees or even cultivating crops to augment local food pantries? Many parishes and schools are already doing this work, and if you are a pastor or principal, we want to hear from you at this case-sensitive survey link, bit.ly/SDCatholicLand.
The Creation Care Ministry and expert parishes with established gardens are developing beginner, intermediate and advanced pathways to grow and engage in this new initiative that officially launches at our 2026 Season of Creation Mass with Bishop Pham on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m., at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Vista. To celebrate the new initiative, we ask that attendees bring to the Mass harvested produce from their parish/school/backyard gardens for donation to the parish’s chosen food bank. Register now to attend at bit.ly/SOCMass26.
More “Common Home, Common Ground” information is soon to come. If you are interested in getting involved or learning more, please contact Christina Slentz at cslentz@sdcatholic.org.
