Season of Creation Events and Resources

Happy Season of Creation 2023! The Season of Creation is the annual Christian celebration to pray and respond together to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, as Pope Francis calls us to do in his encyclical, Laudato Si’. This year we unite around the theme “Let Justice and Peace Flow.”

The world humans have known, enjoyed and celebrated is changing rapidly beyond repair. Biodiversity is being lost at a rate not seen since the last mass extinction. The hope of keeping average temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius is fading. The futures of young people are threatened by the cascading impacts of the loss of biodiversity and a changing climate. Industrialization, colonization and the extraction and consumption of resources have created great wealth, unequally distributed. We are presently more aware than ever of the link between fossil fuels, and violence and war.

The Season “Celebration” begins September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology beloved by many Christian denominations. Pope Francis’ inspiring message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is available here.

We invite all to join in our SD Catholic Creation Care Ministry events and take advantage of the Laudato Si’ resources we have compiled to facilitate your parish, school and/or home celebration. At this link, you will find:

• SOC bulletin inserts (in ENGLISH and SPANISH)
• A form to report 2022-2023 creation care action for celebration at the SOC Mass
• Event Fliers for:
  1. NOW thru SEPT 24 (submission deadline) – Youth & Young Adult Art Contest
  2.  SEPT 16 – Creation Care Workshop at Mission San Luis Rey
  3. SEPT 23 – St. Vincent de Paul Society Friends of the Poor Walk
  4. SEPT 24 – Season of Creation Mass (ENGLISH and SPANISH)
  5. OCT 8 – Feast of Saint Francis Tree Festival
  6. NOW thru OCT 8 – The Letter Film Screening promotion
• SOC Materials/Resources
• Laudato Si’ Action Platform help worksheets and our diocesan plan for reference

Feast of Saint Francis Materials are available for direct download here.
For more information, visit catholicclimatecovenant.org.