In 2015, Pope Francis instituted in the Catholic Church the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” which starts the ecumenical Season of Creation. This takes place each year from 1 September to the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on 4 October. The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV recently issued a message for the tenth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to be celebrated on Monday 1 September 2025, on the theme “Seeds of Peace and Hope”: Message of the Holy Father for the tenth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
He says: “Environmental justice – implicitly proclaimed by the prophets – can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant goal. It is an urgent need that involves much more than simply protecting the environment. For it is a matter of justice – social, economic and human. For believers it is also a duty born of faith, since the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed. In a world where the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change, deforestation and pollution, care for creation becomes an expression of our faith and humanity.
Now is the time to follow words with deeds. “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience” (Laudato Si’, 217). By working with love and perseverance, we can sow many seeds of justice and thus contribute to the growth of peace and the renewal of hope.”
During the Season of Creation we would like to invite you to pray and reflect on care for creation and how we can steward the Earth’s resources for future generations and the common good.