Season of Creation 2025
Pope invites Christians to unite for Creation Day
- Aug 31st, 2025 ICN from Vatican Media
Image BlueSky
Source: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV has renewed his invitation for Christians to join together on September 1 to celebrate the World of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which draws inspiration from the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and the theme: ‘Seeds of Peace and Hope.’
Speaking during the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo XIV recalled that Pope Francis extended the celebration to Catholics 10 years ago by instituting the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, saying prayer for Creation is “now more urgent and important than ever.”
“Together with all Christians, we celebrate it and extend it into the Season of Creation until October 4, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi,” he said. “In the spirit of the Canticle of Brother Sun, composed 800 years ago, let us praise God and renew our commitment not to spoil His gift, but to care for our common home.”
Creation Day, also known as the World Day of Prayer for Creation, is celebrated by most Christian Churches following an invitation by the Orthodox Church in 1989.
Grounded in an ancient Orthodox liturgical tradition from the 5th century, it is a day to praise God as Creator, commemorate the mystery of Creation in Christ, and inspire Christians to care for the created world.
The World Council of Churches, the ecumenical body bringing together Orthodox and Protestant Churches, released a new video about the day’s history and symbolism.
While many Catholic Bishops’ Conferences have been celebrating Creation Day since the 1990s, Pope Francis instituted it as the World Day of Prayer for the universal Catholic Church in 2015.
The Jesuit Pope then encouraged annual Creation Day celebrations by publishing official annual messages for the day of prayer.
Pope Leo XIV continued the tradition of his predecessor this year, publishing a special Message for Creation Day 2025.
“The theme of this World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, chosen by our beloved Pope Francis, is ‘Seeds of Peace and Hope,'” he said. “On the tenth anniversary of the establishment of this Day of Prayer, which coincided with the publication of the Encyclical Laudato si’, we find ourselves celebrating the present Jubilee as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.”
Pope Leo added that “for believers, environmental justice is also a duty born of faith, since the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed.”
Pope Leo recently promulgated the new ‘Mass for the Care of Creation’ formulary, with the Dicastery for Divine Worship, explaining that it was offered “with a view to its possible use on the next World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.”
The new Mass formulary enables Catholic communities to celebrate Creation Day in a liturgical format for the first time, beyond the traditional ecumenical prayer services.
The Creation Day initiative is coordinated globally by the World Council of Churches, chaired by its Moderator, Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, in collaboration with various Christian world communions and partners.
The Pope Video: September 2025 – For our relationship with all of creation
- Sep 2nd, 2025
This month, Pope Leo XIV invites us to pray “for our relationship with all of creation.” Inspired by Saint Francis of Assisi, he invites us to experience our interdependence with all creatures loved by God and worthy of respect and love.
His prayer intention for September comes during the Season of Creation. This is a special time when Christians of various denominations join in prayer and action for the care of the earth. We are also celebrating two important anniversaries: the 800th anniversary of Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of Creation, and the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si’.
Pope Leo XIV is encouraging us to discover God’s presence in creation and to feel responsible for our common home. Let us together pray through the video produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, in collaboration with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Let us pray that, inspired by Saint Francis, we might experience our interdependence with all creatures who are loved by God and worthy of love and respect.
Lord, You love everything You have created,
and nothing exists outside the mystery of Your tenderness.
Every creature, no matter how small,
is the fruit of Your love and has a place in this world.
Even the simplest or shortest life is surrounded by Your care.
Like St. Francis of Assisi, today we too want to say:
“Praised be You, my Lord!”
Through the beauty of creation,
You reveal Yourself as a source of goodness. We ask You:
open our eyes to recognize You,
learning from the mystery of Your closeness to all creation
that the world is infinitely more than a problem to solve.
It is a mystery to be contemplated with gratitude and hope.
Help us to discover Your presence in all creation,
so that, in fully recognizing it,
we may feel and know ourselves to be responsible for this common home
where You invite us to care for, respect, and protect
life in all its forms and possibilities.
Praised be You, Lord!
Amen.
Watch the video www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7eIwa8f64g
This video was made by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network: www.popesprayer.va/. in collaboration with Vatican Media: www.vaticannews.va/en.html and Click To Pray: www.clicktopray.org/
Source Irish Bishops Conference website
“Future generations will never forgive us if we miss the opportunity to protect our common home. We have inherited a garden; we must not leave a desert for our children.” Joint statement from Pope Francis, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury.
Peace with Creation
This year’s Season of Creation has as its theme “Peace with Creation”, inspired by the passage from Isaiah 32:14-18; “My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” In a world of challenges and division, marked by war and climate change, how can we as people of faith create and work towards peace with creation?
The Season of Creation has a special significance for the Catholic Church, particularly since the late Pope Francis established 1 September as an annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. The Season of Creation is marked throughout the Christian world from 1 September to 4 October (Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi) and celebrates the joy of creation as well as encouraging awareness-raising initiatives to protect the natural environment.
We hope that the following resources will help you and your parish community to celebrate the Season of Creation 2025. These resources are compiled by the Laudato Si’ Working Group of the Irish Bishop’s Conference and Trócaire. You can find further resources on the international Season of Creation website: www.seasonofcreation.org
Resources:
- Sunday Liturgy Notes for Season of Creation 2025: This resource includes homily notes for each Sunday of the season, prayers of the faithful, music suggestions, reflections and Mass parts which highlight the call for “Peace with Creation”.
- Mass and prayer for the Care of Creation: This resource is for celebration of the new Mass for Care for Creation on weekdays, ad experimentum
- Season of creation prayer 2025 (from seasonofcreation.org )
- Ribbons of Peace – a short 10 minute liturgical moment that could be done within parish activities, at the end of the Sunday Mass or even at the start of parish meetings that occur during the Season of Creation.
- Nurturing your family faith in nature: This resource from Trócaire is ideal for a children’s group, youth group or any family or community setting where people can explore their relationship with God’s Creation through reflection and activities.
- Rubbish graveyard – a resource which helps to show people just how long it takes for items to biodegrade. You might create a space in your parish to display it. This is a helpful activity for children’s liturgy or youth group. With thanks to An Tairseach Ecology Centre.
- A blessing for animals: On the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (4 October ) parishes might like to invite people to bring their pets for a special blessing. This resource will help support this activity. “Praise be to you my Lord, with all your creatures.” (Canticle of Creation).
- An ecological rosary: Slides to accompany an Ecological Rosary from the Laudato Si’ Movement.
- Creation walk moments: adapted from the booklet by Father Brian Grogan SJ, ‘Creation Walk: The amazing story of a small blue planet’. You may use this resource in your parish community by setting up ‘moments’ around the church, or around your parish, to convey the different stages of the story of our universe. This resource will provide people with an opportunity to experience the wonder and awe of God’s creation and to become familiar with the story of our universe. Did you know that there is now a beautiful Creation Walk at Knock Shrine? You might consider bringing your parish group to visit it. You can read about it here.
- Tree planting resource: engage your parish or diocese in tree planting initiatives this year. Thanks to ‘Easy Treesie’ we have all the tips you need and prayers for a tree planting service.
- Video reflections: These video reflections can be used as part of liturgies, parish meetings during the season or linked to your parish website and social media pages. With thanks to Vivek da Silva from the Laudato Si’ Working Group.
Other Useful Resources:
- A River Ritual: This is a resource for a ritual to be celebrated by a river or stream. This resource was created for a previous Season of Creation, however it can be adapted for use at any time. Did you know that every Irish diocese has a river or sea access point? It seems appropriate to offer a ritual prayer that we could celebrate near water. We hope that this opportunity to gather out of doors in “the cathedral of nature” will be a support and inspiration for all involved.
- Brother River Meditation: A three-minute reflection of nature sounds and visuals. This could be used at the start of a liturgy or a meeting to help people reflect
- Earth Day Prayer Service – Earth Day is celebrated on 22 April each year. This beautiful prayer service could be adapted for use at any time of the year, particularly during the Season of Creation. With thanks to the Care for Creation team in Balally Parish, Dublin.
TROCAIRE RESOURCES
School resources for the Season of Creation 2025 are now available. There are assemblies for Primary and Post-Primary Schools, as well as child and youth friendly versions of our ‘Ribbons for Peace’ activity. You can access the resources on the Irish Catholic Bishops’ website and the Trócaire Season of Creation page.
If you would like further information on youth activities for this year’s Season of Creation, or are interested in school/youth workshops or talks for the year ahead, please do get in touch.
Kind regards,
Deirbhile
| Deirbhile Craven Church Youth Officer Trócaire, Belfast deirbhile.craven@trocaire.org |
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