Season of Creation | Archdiocese of Baltimore

POPE SPEAKS: Pope Francis calls the environment a “wonderful gift” that God places in our hands. Watch the video above.

Pope Francis has designated a “Season of Creation” from Sept. 1 through Oct. 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

“It’s a favorable time to praise God for all his creatures & to be responsible given the cry of the Earth,” the Holy Father said in a Sept. 1 tweet.

What are you doing to protect the environment? How is your parish or school involved? How are you celebrating the Season of Creation?

Tell us about it by emailing George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org. Share your stories on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Facebook and Twitter pages, using the #SeasonofCreation and #IamCatholic hashtags.

To see what the U.S. bishops are doing to protect the environment, click here.

Take the Pope Francis Pledge to Protect the Environment!

Read Laudato Si', the pope's encyclical on the environment

NEWS & COMMENTARY ON THE ENVIRONMENT

January 6, 2020
Australian Catholics seek prayers as fires continue in four states
As some of the worst wildfires in Australian history rage across four states, thousands of people in affected areas in New South Wales and Victoria continue to be evacuated to safety.
Read More
December 19, 2019
NDP joins School Sisters of Notre Dame in nudging shoppers to help environment
Amid the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping outside a Giant food store in North Baltimore Dec. 7, a small group of School Sisters of Notre Dame joined teachers and students from Notre Dame Preparatory School in gently nudging shoppers to protect the environment.
Read More
November 16, 2019
Catechism will be updated to include ecological sins, pope says
Following through on a proposal made at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, Pope Francis said there are plans to include a definition of ecological sins in the church's official teaching.
Read More
November 7, 2019
Success in protecting ozone layer offers lessons for future, pope says
Decades of fruitful international cooperation on protecting the earth's ozone layer serve as an important lesson for guiding collaboration needed today, Pope Francis said.
Read More
October 18, 2019
Washington Archdiocese’s solar array touted as model for church agencies
The sun shone on Catholic Charities, literally, Oct. 17 as Washington Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory blessed a solar array installed on five acres of the agency's land surrounding the Missionaries of Charity's Gift of Peace home.
Read More
October 8, 2019
First synod talks look at climate, priests, inculturation, Vatican says
Climate change, water resources, inculturation and indigenous practices were among the topics discussed during the first afternoon session of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.
Read More
October 6, 2019
Fear, status quo smother fire of God’s love, pope says at synod Mass
The Catholic Church's mission in the world is to spread the fire of God's love and must not be limited to the "'ordinary maintenance' of those who already know the Gospel," Pope Francis said.
Read More
October 4, 2019
On feast of St. Francis, pope joins Amazonians to plant tree at Vatican
Pope Francis joined Amazonian church workers and indigenous people Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, to plant a tree in the Vatican Gardens.
Read More
September 26, 2019
Our Lady of Mount Carmel School modernizes campus
Our Lady of Mount Carmel School took a major leap into 21st century over the summer, in the process heeding the call of Pope Francis to become better stewards of the environment.
Read More
September 24, 2019
Commitment to fighting climate change still weak, pope says
The international community must ramp up its efforts if it expects to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, Pope Francis said.
Read More
September 12, 2019
Pope calls for global alliance to better educate young people
Pope Francis said the challenges facing humanity and the Earth are so urgent and important that he has invited world leaders, educators and young people to come to the Vatican next spring to launch a global alliance for building a new, more humane future.
Read More
September 1, 2019
Repent, convert, pray, give up fossil fuels, pope says
"Now is the time to abandon our dependence on fossil fuels and move, quickly and decisively, toward forms of clean energy," Pope Francis said as he marked the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.
Read More
August 26, 2019
Pope, bishops urge action to save burning Amazon rainforest
Describing the Amazon rainforest as "vital for our planet," Pope Francis joined the regions bishops in praying for action to extinguish the massive fires burning there.
Read More
August 9, 2019
In new interview, pope explains aim of synod, warns against nationalism
The upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Amazon is an "urgent" gathering, not of scientists and politicians, but for the church whose main focus in discussions will be evangelization, Pope Francis said in a new interview.
Read More
July 11, 2019
Praising God for gift of creation leads to respect for it, pope says
The pope said the current situation in the South American rainforest “is a sad paradigm of what is happening in many parts of the planet.”
Read More