September 1, 2017 — Two years ago, Pope Francis declared Catholics would join their Orthodox brothers and sisters and other Christians to formally mark September 1 as the annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople released a joint environmental statement today for the World Day of Prayer for Creation.

"The urgent call and challenge to care for creation are an invitation for all of humanity to work towards sustainable and integral development," the statement said. “We no longer respect nature as a shared gift; instead, we regard it as a private possession. We no longer associate with nature in order to sustain it; instead, we lord over it to support our own constructs."

Begun by the Orthodox Church in 1989, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation now marks the beginning of the monthlong Season of Creation ending on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4, a campaign facilitated by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network and the Global Catholic Climate Movement (GCCM).

The Season of Creation and other efforts are part of the response to Pope Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato Si', in which he delivered a call to action for people to be part of the solution to climate change.

The pope referenced the occasion in his August prayer intention video, praying that “artists of our time, through their ingenuity, may help everyone discover the beauty of creation.”

This year, the GCCM invites us all to become “artists” and participate in the #BeautyOfCreation social media campaign by taking photos or videos of places in nature where they appreciate the beauty of creation and adding the hashtag #BeautyOfCreation.

“As we celebrate the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, let us answer Pope Francis’ invitation to all people ‘to adopt a respectful and responsible approach toward creation,’” said Cecilia Calvo, Senior Advisor on Environmental Justice for the advocacy office of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. She suggested that individuals participate in the Season of Creation by taking the Ignatian Carbon Challenge or checking out the Jesuit Conference’s Environmental Justice efforts.

“Let us look closely at how our life choices impact creation and the poor and vulnerable at home and around the world. Let us hold in our hearts and pray for all the people and families suffering from the impacts of Hurricane Harvey and pray for their protection and safe recovery.”

Below are further resources for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. 

Read more about caring for our common home

• Ignatian Solidarity Network: ISN developed a resource page helping us act on the pope’s call to care for creation.
• The Jesuit Post: Short, thoughtful reflection pieces on the encyclical.
• America Magazine: America magazine published a series of articles on the encyclical.
• Ecojesuit: Connecting Jesuits, people, and ecology online to promote greater awareness and responsibility to engage in meaningful ecology issues of our time.
• Global Ignatian Advocacy Network (GIAN): Ecology and Justice in Mining are among the many topics for which GIAN is mobilizing Jesuits and lay colleagues around the world.
• Earth Healing: Founded by Jesuit Father Al Fritsch, Earth Healing is a virtual home for spiritual reflections on God's creation.
• Promotio Iustitiae 111: A Spirituality that Reconciles us with Creation: Released in 2013, this series of reflections from Jesuits across the world examines feelings of gratitude to the Creator for the whole natural world and all the beings who dwell in it.
• USCCB Environmental Justice: A useful resource on church teachings and previous encyclicals as well as prayers and action steps.
• Eco-Spirituality: A Ministry of Faith and Works to Preserve Creation: In 2016, the Maryland and USA Northeast Jesuit Provinces shared monthly stories featuring ways Jesuits, lay collaborators and their ministries are caring for our common home.
• Living Laudato Si' One Year Later: A look at the progress on Pope Francis’ call to action on climate change as a moral imperative one year after the publication of Laudato Si'.
• This Earth Day, Jesuit Institutions Are #LivingLaudatoSi; On Eve of First Anniversary of Papal Encyclical, Jesuit Institutions Are Living Laudato Si’: How Jesuit institutions are responding to the encyclical.

Environmental Resources

• On care for our common home:  A dialogue guide for Laudato Si’: A dialogue guide for Laudato Si’ by the Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice of the English Canada Province Jesuits.
• Living with Limits, Living Well!: A workbook created by the Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice of the English Canada Province of the Jesuits. For a summary of this resource, click here.
• National Catholic Reporter: Jesuit Father Tom Reese developed a reading guide on Laudato Si' for NCR, with reflection questions for each chapter.
• Leadership Council of Women Religious: LCWR created a two-page resource for Laudato Si' based on the pastoral circle.
• Climate Change: Our Call to Conversion: A four session booklet created by the Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center. Click here for a summary of this resource.
• Free online environmental science textbook: Healing Earth, a free online environmental textbook created by the International Jesuit Ecology Project was launched in 2016 for higher education and secondary schools around the world. It addresses the major ecological challenges of our time, including climate change, from an integrated scientific, spiritual and ethical perspective.
• Santa Clara University Laudato Si' Teaching Module: Santa Clara University offers a free online teaching module designed to help an instructor integrate the encyclical into a variety of classes. The module was developed for college students but is adaptable for high school students.

Taking Action

• Global Catholic Climate Movement Season of Creation: The Season of Creation, running between September 1 and October 4, is a time when 2.2 billion Christians are invited to pray and care for creation. The website has ways to get involved with a prayer service and ideas for caring for the environment.
• Promotio Iustitiae 106: Healing a Broken World: Developed through a task force at the appeal of Jesuit Father General Adolfo Nicolás, Healing a Broken World suggests many different commitments and initiatives that can be undertaken at different levels of the Society of Jesus: conferences, provinces, communities and works.
• Catholics Confront Global Poverty: A joint program of the USCCB and CRS, Catholics Confront Global Poverty have had regular action alerts on environmental justice issues since the release of Laudato Si', the most recent calling on Congress to fully fund the Green Climate Investment Fund.
• Catholic Climate Covenant: CCC’s website has an excellent advocacy action alert center, as well as the opportunity to get support to help institutions move toward environmental sustainability.