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

May 18, 2020
Vatican listens to ‘cry of poor, cry of the Earth’ during pandemic
Pope Francis' vision of "integral human development" and "integral ecology" involves identifying the connections between the condition of human beings and the condition of the environment, said Cardinal Peter Turkson.
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May 15, 2020
CRS unveils hunger awareness campaign as pandemic hinders access to food
As tens of millions more people are at risk of acute hunger because of the global coronavirus pandemic, Catholic Relief Services is embarking on a campaign to raise awareness, advocate and raise funds to head off the brewing crisis.
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May 13, 2020
Laudato Si’ Week is May 16-24
To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the encyclical on the care for the environment, Laudato Si', Pope Francis has invited Catholics to participate in a nine-day global campaign of prayer and action from May 16-24. The theme of the week is “everything is connected.”
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April 22, 2020
Creation is sacred gift deserving respect, care, pope says on Earth Day
Humanity has failed to take care of the earth and its inhabitants, sinning against God and his gift of creation, Pope Francis said.
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April 21, 2020
Five years after Laudato Si, and 50 after the first Earth Day
Let this five years’ marking of Laudato Si and 50 years’ celebration of Earth Day impel our desires to know and accept our sacred place like never before.
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February 12, 2020
Pope shares his ‘dreams’ for Amazon region, its Catholic community
Pope Francis said he dreams of an Amazon region where the rights of the poor and indigenous are respected, local cultures are preserved, nature is protected, and the Catholic Church is present and active with "Amazonian features."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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