Laudato Si’ Week 2024, with the theme “Seeds of Hope”, inspired by the theme of the next Season of Creation, concluded with countless activities and news held in different communities around the world.
The beginning was marked by the opening prayer, from Chile, with more than 900 views in our social media channels, in collaboration with the Franciscan friars and the children of the community, who prayed for the victims of the climatic catastrophes and sang the Canticle of the Creatures, praying for the fruits of a new Laudato Si’ Week, and celebrating the nine years since the encyclical was published.
Also present were prelates from around the world, such as Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Episcopal Conference of the Philippines, who in his message called on parishes and communities to unite “in cultivating seeds of hope for our suffering planet”.
In the United States, the Conference of Catholic Bishops published a daily prayer based on the Laudato Si’ Week Celebration Guide. The Bishop of Lexington issued a letter encouraging parishes to participate in LSW and the Laudato Si’ Action Platform. The Dioceses of Ogdensburg and Syracuse, meanwhile, hosted a series of webinars on how to create and maintain a Laudato Si’ focused parish community.
In Australia, a beach cleanup was organized by Mercy Hub, the Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea. This is how they celebrated in Ecuador.
In Mexico, they promoted the week’s activities on their social media and prayed a Laudato Si’ Rosary; in Argentina, a kindergarten organized activities; and in Honduras, a cleanup and seed planting took place.
Our dear director, Susana Refega, did a relevant interview for NCR related to fossil fuels, global elections and Laudato Si’ Movement, and Christina Leaño, LSM’s associate director, wrote a contemplative blog for Earthbeat.
In Italy, during the 9th anniversary of the Encyclical, a Laudato Si’ wedding took place, with second-hand decorations and copies of the encyclical as wedding souvenirs. Miriam and Vicenzo, both Laudato Si’ Animators, celebrated this important day during Laudato Si’ Week.
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- Nettoyage au Honduras
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- Œuvre des enfants en Argentine,
An important event took place in Europe as the European Laudato Si’ Alliance (ELSiA) presented the results of “Living Laudato Si’”, with more than 1,300 views. It featured the first comprehensive survey on integral ecology conducted in the region, with overwhelming results showing that 95% of Catholic organizations noted a “tangible impact” of Laudato Si’ in their organizations.
Laudato Si’ Week in numbers
As mentioned, countless activities took place around the world. Here are some of the statistics from this year’s Laudato Si’ Week.
Our website was visited by around 35,687 people, of which approximately 4,990 downloaded our Celebration guide in the different available languages. More than 70 news reports, and blogs talked about Laudato Si’ Week, more than 900 people watched our Opening Prayer service, and the Elsia report event had over 1,300 views.
Other organizations joined Laudato Si’ Week, such as REPAM, the Focolare Movement and Pax Christi.
Many more things happened during this Laudato Si’ Week, building and giving life to our movement around the world. Thank you for being a part of it!