Oh, what a Laudato Si’ Week!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

In Argentina, Archbishop Lugones opened Laudato Si’ Week with a mass in Buenos Aires cathedral, calling for a “culture of care” to permeate society, warning that an ethic of solidarity and responsibility cannot be postponed. Meanwhile, Archbishop Jorge Lozano heeded the call to Listen and walk together: “We must be able to share these concerns with other institutions, universities, social organizations, communities of different religions, in order to build a more humane world together. In a video message, he introduced The School of Social Leadership, a project soon to be carried out by the Catholic University in Cuyo. Pic: Mons. Jorge Lozano

Puyo, Ecuador

In the heart of Ecuador, Laudato Si’ Animator Marcos Mancero organized a Laudato Si’ Week commemorative fair in Puyo to talk about the environmental problems facing our common home, especially the Amazon, while touring the Laudato Si’ theme park. In La Vicentina, the first of a series of volunteer training sessions was held. Volunteers  at the ecological trail learned about group guidance, the endemic plants and birds of the region, and the health benefits of contact with nature. The project is a collaboration between the Quito Chapter of Laudato Si’ Movement, the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and the ConCiencia Ambiental club of the EPN.
Pic Vicentina 1

In Mexico, Laudato Si’ Movement’s Maureen Villanueva Lecuona and Alonso Elí de Llanes García delivered the Laudato Si’ Objectives Statement to the Congress of Nuevo León. Six counties came together to sign the Laudato Si’ commitment for water, bringing together government, organizations and Church into a common goal.

Throughout Italy, thousands walked the synodal path together to celebrate Laudato Si’ Week. Laudato Si’ Animator Luca encouraged all to safeguard our common home using the universal language of music.  “When I start writing a song, first of all, I am attentive to the Spirit, aware that music can change people’s hearts and minds, inspiring in their emotions but also the desire to convert.”

The Reggio Calabria Laudato Si’ Circle, the Masci nautical scout group and the Focolarini, experienced a poetic Eucharistic adoration by the sea. Laudato Si’ Animator Francesco shares his thoughts: “The most beautiful moment …was when the Don gave us the Christ in our hands one by one, kneeling on the beach, the lights of the strait, the sound of the waves…, the sirocco breeze , the sky submerged between the clouds, the fire of the Christ in the empty hands like those of Abraham.”

Animators in the UK

In the UK, Laudato Si’ Animators rallied alongside activists from organizations like Friends of the Earth, Beyond Fossil Fuels Together and 350.org to halt Shell’s Annual General Meeting. The meeting restarted hours later with a smaller audience.

Divest from the fossil fuel industry and endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty 

In Ireland, primary students continued making a big impact with ‘One Small Change‘. To honor the amazing power of our youth, we share this video that is as true today as it was when it was made two years ago.

Photograph by Corinne SIMON/Hans Lucas.

In France, Laudato Si’ Movement supported various actions in Paris demanding that the oil company Total stops the construction of the EACOP oil pipeline that is considered a carbon bomb. Catholics mobilized the day before TotalEnergies’ AGM with a prayer vigil in Notre Dame des Anges, featuring an energizing gospel choir and touching testimonies from Christians from Uganda and Tanzania, and the participation of several Christian organizations such as Eglise verte and Greenfaith. The eventful ceremony was the first time that such a prayer service on a precise mobilization on Fossil fuels took place there. The following day, Alternatiba, Greenpeace and other organizations, including Laudato Si’ Movement, demonstrated against the company’s very insufficient environmental policies.

Spain LS meeting

In Spain, the Diocese of Bilbao promoted eco-justice with the `Auzobizi’ project in Erandio. The project is part of the program of support for young immigrants in destitute situations. Laudato Si’ Animator Florencia Baldazo set Medina de Pomar on fire! She channeled her experience and wisdom into motivating her community and planning an amazing program, featuring concerts, a film screening, walks, talks, and more. The Diocese of Gaudix hosted Catholic Scouts from Almería. Bishop D. Francisco Jesús Orozco welcomed the scouts and spoke of the need to take care of our planet. In closing the week, Laudato Si’ Animator Rosa María Quero Pérez asked important questions and shared her reflections. 

Listen to the new Laudato Si’ song, produced by Migueli Marin to celebrate and care for creation.

In Uganda, LSM Chapter leader John Hillary organized a series of events targeting the fossil fuel industry. The Artivism Workshop brought together a select group of creatives who use their art to highlight social issues.They were introduced to the #StopEACOP campaign, and coined a new slogan/hashtag: “#EACOPKatwa”. Katwa means “false” in Ugandan slang, and originates from the Luganda word Butwa, meaning “poison”. This slogan asserts that the EACOP promise of creating jobs and a good life for Ugandans is false, and EACOP is more destructive than people are told. On Afrika Day, A radio talk show was hosted by climate activist John Hillary with panelists Sr. Christine Kivungi MMS, Fr. Berry Apiire CSC and Prince Papa from The LaudatoSi Movement. The discussion emphasized the dangers of the proposed crude oil pipeline. Meanwhile, a group of young activists held a climate strike at the biggest Total Energies station in Jinja City to demand that the company put an end to its destructive project in the Albertine region of Uganda, chanting #EACOPKatwa and #StopEACOP to the Total Energies officials.

In South Africa,  Laudato Si’ Animator Jane Overmeyer dedicated her time to painting Laudato Si’ inspired art. In Nigeria, LS Animator Marie Fatayi led an Environment and Energy Conference that involved the Archbishop of the Lagos Archdiocese, Alfred Adewale Martins, and a Commissioner of Lagos state Government. Ethiopia saw its first-ever in-person Laudato Si’ Animator training, thanks to LS Chapter Leader Dorothy Awuor and her collaborators. In Lubumbashi city, DRC, Sr Sylvie Thumba and partners from  the Claretian Team of Solidarity and Mission in the DRC and the community of the Parish of St. Ignatius of the Cité Verte, Kinshasa, organized a series of events, such as “Let’s listen to the life of the Congo Basin and travel together to save it”, where participants gathered for an open-air prayer and collectively proposed an action plan to commit themselves to the safeguarding of the local forests as the lungs of the planet.

Philippines tree planting

In the Philippines, Filipino Catholics use Laudato Si’ Week to clean up the sea. The Cebu Archdiocese and others in the Visayas region made a collective effort to resolve the climate crisis by addressing biodiversity loss and saving marine life.“We organized the first-ever Laudato Si’ underwater clean-up drive. Divers from all over the region, boat owners and volunteers removed trash lying on our seabeds,” -The Cebu Archdiocese Commission on Ecology. A tree-planting activity was also organized by the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Zambales, and a dance presentation was held by the youth on the Closing Eucharist for the Laudato Si Week Celebration at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Villanueva of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro. 

Sign the Healthy Planet, Healthy People petition to protect our common home. 

Pakistan tree planting

In India, Bishop Allwyn D’Silva of the Archdiocese of Bombay  marked the start of the Laudato Si’ Week celebration with a Creation Prayer Service. 

In Pakistan, a mangrove planting activity was led by Caritas Pakistan Karachi. The program seeks to raise awareness among fisherfolk about the importance of mangroves in capturing carbon dioxide, protecting shorelines from erosion and maintaining marine biodiversity. 

In Australia, Majellan Media initiated an important partnership with Laudato Si’ Movement in an effort to help families bring Laudato Si’ to life. Meanwhile, Laudato Si’ Animator Judith Keller led an online breathing workshop, interweaving Laudato Si’ texts. Attendees from Australia, Canada, the U.S and Korea entered musically, poetically and contemplative into a communal experience. In Fiji, Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Nadera, led by LSM Global Membership member Paulo Bale, organized daily webinars on the Laudato Si’ goals and posed daily challenges for children.  One such challenge was to draw a picture of Crying Mother Earth. Pita Alifereti,13, overheard a conversation on “Responding to the cry of Mother Earth” and decided to take up the challenge. He asked his grandmother to share his work during Laudato Si’ Week. Well done, Pita!