Discussion on the Canticle of the Creatures

In the context of the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures, written by St. Francis of Assisi, on Wednesday, the 18th June 2025, an important discussion was held at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. The event was a propitious space to reflect on the spiritual, theological, artistic and ecological validity of this work of St. Francis, as well as its connection with the current challenges posed by the encyclical Laudato Si'. 

The discussion was organized by the Order of Friars Minor of Chile and the Faculty of Theology of the UC, and had the special participation of the Mission Country Choir of the UC Pastoral, a project that seeks to transmit the message of Christ through song.  

On the above, Br Julio Campos, OFM, Provincial Animator of JPIC, said that "it is a moment to strengthen a look of justice towards creation, it is a time to seek conciliation in forgiveness and peace among those who have moved away. To celebrate the Canticle is to promote an ecological spirituality, as Pope Francis says." 

Nature as a source of faith 

Considered the first poem in the Italian language and one of the most profound expressions of praise for creation in the Christian tradition, the Canticle of the Creatures is a composition that has inspired for centuries, a spirituality that recognizes brotherhood with all creation, and one of the sources that inspired Pope Francis for his encyclical letter Laudato Si' on the care of the Common Home.  published 10 years ago. 

In this line, the discussion on the 800 years of the Canticle of the Creatures gathered great expectation among the attendees. "It is an opportunity for the Franciscan Order to make current a message that our family has spread for decades as care for the Common Home. We are clear that the social crisis is also an environmental crisis. It is a single crisis that today has devastating consequences in the climate, in the forced migratory movement, amongst other consequences, where perhaps the hardest is the difficulty in ensuring food for entire populations afflicted by war, lack of water and internal conflicts," said Brother Julio Campos, OFM. 

Joint work  

For the Provincial Animator of JPIC, the alliance achieved with the UC Faculty of Theology to develop the conversation was relevant. "It is a space to manifest this story in a different environment of the Franciscan parishes and schools and to complement the research and reflection in the academy with the intention of St. Francis of Assisi manifested in the canticle of Brother Sun," he said. 

Br Ronald Villalobos, OFM, Provincial Animator of the Pastoral Care of Vocations, was responsible for presenting the Canticle of Brother Sun from a historical, literary, spiritual and theological perspective. Then the icon "San Francisco" was presented, a work in ‘egg tempera” with gold leaf by the UC Theology academic, Federico Aguirre, which will tour the country soon as part of the activities for the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures. "The icon present in this act of commemoration is also to reaffirm our dialogue from integral aesthetics. The beauty of God present in creation, manifested in the beauty of this icon and in St. Francis' conviction about a universal cosmic fraternity, with a world in which we are all brothers and sisters, because we are all creatures of God," said Brother Julio.