Vatican observes 'Earth Hour'

By Vatican News staff writer

Vatican City State took part in the traditional international initiative Earth Hour 2021, promoted annually by the environmental organization, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

On Saturday, from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Rome time), the lights of the dome and the facade of St. Peter's Basilica, as well as the colonnade, were turned off. Only a few lights remained on for safety reasons.

Earth hour

Earth Hour is billed as the largest global mobilisation against climate change. Starting with the symbolic gesture of turning off the lights for an hour, it is intended to unite citizens, institutions and businesses in a common desire to give the world a sustainable future and to overcome the challenge of climate change.

From the first edition in 2007, in which only the city of Sydney was involved, the initiative quickly spread tthroughout the world, leaving squares, streets and symbolic monuments in the dark, such as - among others - the Colosseum in Rome, Christ the Redeemer in Rio, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Bridge over the Bosphorus.