From 1st September to 4th October, Christians of various denominations will celebrate the Season of Creation, a period dedicated to prayer, contemplation, and care for our common home, responding together to the cry of creation.
This year, the ecumenical family gathers around the theme "Living Water," with the symbol "Immersion in Living Water," inspired by the words of the prophet Ezekiel: "Every living thing that moves wherever the river goes will live, and there will be very many fish there, for wherever the waters come, they are healed; and wherever the stream goes, everything will live" (Ezek. 47:9). “Along the river, on this bank and that, will grow every kind of tree for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail, but will bear fruit every month, for their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine” (Ezek. 47:12).
For the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, established by Pope Francis in 2015 and celebrated by the Catholic Church on September 1, Pope Leo XIV published the message “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is. 2:4). The Holy Father invites us to interpret the crises and human sufferings and the accelerating destruction of the balance of creation as “a single invocation for healing and peace” rising from a wounded world. In particular, he highlights how war has consequences that reach far beyond the battlefield: it destroys ecosystems, contaminates essential resources like air and water, jeopardises food security, and fuels poverty, inequality, and new social tensions, creating a vicious cycle that can generate further conflict.
For Pope Leo XIV, the response requires responsibility and a conversion of the heart, both personal and collective. Peace, in fact, begins in the heart and is reflected in relationships, communities, and the relationship with creation. This is the path of an authentic ecological conversion: transforming what is used for destruction into instruments of life, dedicating energy and resources to integral human development, overcoming poverty, defending human dignity, reconciliation, and protecting creation. The Pope thus invites us to protect the different "ecosystems" entrusted to humanity: creation, human relationships, and the heart.
This year, the closing of the Season of Creation, on October 4, will coincide with the eighth centenary of the Transitus of St Francis. For the Franciscan Family, this celebration further reminds us to experience the Season of Creation as a journey of peace, conversion, and care for our common home.
Season of Creation: History
In 1989, Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I proclaimed September 1st a day of prayer for creation for the Orthodox Church; the Orthodox liturgical year begins on that day with a commemoration of how God created the world.
The World Council of Churches has helped make this season special by extending the celebration from September 1st to October 4th, the liturgical feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Following the guidance of Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I and the World Council of Churches, Christians worldwide have embraced this season as an integral part of their annual calendar. In 2015, Pope Francis established the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in the Catholic Church, and in 2019 he began celebrating the Season of Creation as well.
In recent years, statements from religious leaders around the world have also encouraged the faithful to dedicate this season to the care of creation.
For full information: https://seasonofcreation.org/
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