By Verghese V Joseph –
To celebrate the end of the Laudato Si’ Special Anniversary Year, Pope Francis has invited the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics to joyfully participate in Laudato Si’ Week 2021, to be held 16-24 May.
The Vatican-sponsored celebration will bring Catholics together to rejoice in the great progress they’ve made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life and to plan ambitious action ahead of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and the decade ahead.
The theme for the weeklong celebration is, “for we know that things can change” (Laudato Si’ 13).
The event coincides with the sixth anniversary (May 24) of when Pope Francis finished writing the encyclical. Laudato Si’ has enlivened Catholic communities across the globe to work against the ecological crisis and climate emergency.
But, as evident in the rapid pace of species extinction and climate change, more urgent action is needed to create a more just and sustainable future.
As Pope Francis said on Earth Day, “When this destruction of nature is triggered, it is very difficult to stop it. But we are still in time. And we will be more resilient if we work together instead of doing it alone.”
During Laudato Si’ Week, Catholics will come together and present to the world a living testimony of Laudato Si’ transformations.
The week will feature presentations from world-renowned leaders that will showcase how they’ve transformed their communities and invite Catholics to take similar action regionally and locally.
The dialogues will carry a special focus on advocacy efforts aimed at raising the Catholic voice ahead of COP15 and COP26.
At the grassroots level, local leaders will spearhead similar opportunities, including sustainability initiatives, educational events, and prayer gatherings, that will seek to inspire concrete action for our common home.
Laudato Si’ Week also will feature a missionary-like sendoff that will encourage the faithful to go and announce the Gospel of Creation in every corner of the globe.
The week will finish with a preview of the tool that will help the global Church realize more progress in the decade ahead: the Laudato Si’ Action Platform. The Vatican-led effort will empower Catholic institutions, communities, and families to implement Laudato Si’.
Catholics will be uniting at a crucial time in 2021. In November, at COP26, countries must announce their plans to meet the goals of the Paris agreement. At COP15, scheduled for October in China, the world will have the opportunity to set meaningful and robust targets to protect creation.
The Laudato Si’ Special Anniversary Year was launched by the Vatican last May, at the end of the 2020 Laudato Si’ Week, which commemorated the fifth anniversary of the encyclical.
Laudato Si’ Week 2021 is sponsored by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and facilitated by the Global Catholic Climate Movement in collaboration with RENOVA+, Caritas Internationalis, CIDSE, International Union Superiors General, Union of Superiors General, Society of Jesus, the General office for justice, peace and integrity of creation from the Order from the Franciscan Friars, and in partnership with dozens of Catholic partners.
Photo Contest
Meanwhile, Laudato Si’ photo contest that will help raise awareness about the urgent need to contemplate and care for creation will end on May 15. The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Vatican News, and the GCCM has invites the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics to participate in photo contest.
The ecological crisis is a far too often overlooked crisis as the world rightly focuses much of its attention on the climate emergency. But the health of creation, as measured through its biodiversity, is inextricably linked with the climate.
Vibrant forests and grasslands store carbon. A diverse ecosystem supports pollinators, which play a vital role in our food security. Healthy wetlands buffer extreme storms and floods, which scientists say are more likely to occur as the Earth’s temperature rises.
To help raise awareness about the need to care for biodiversity on 22 May, International Day for Biological Diversity, Catholics around the world are asked to share their #LaudatoSiMoment.
How can people participate?
To participate, take a photo that shows one of three things:
The cry of the Earth: the impact of the ecological crisis on creation
The cry of the poor: the impact of the ecological crisis on the most vulnerable
“For we know things can change” (LS 13), the theme of Laudato Si’ Week: Celebrating and showing creation’s beauty
There will be three winners per category. This contest will reward the significance of each photo’s message rather than the technique or precise quality of each image.
Next, participants should share the photo on social media with #LaudatoSiMoment and #LaudatoSiWeek and tag the following accounts on one of the below three social media channels:
Facebook: Global Catholic Climate Movement, Vatican News
Twitter: @CathClimateMvmt @VaticanIHD, @VaticanNews
Instagram: @livelaudatosi, @VaticanIHD, @VaticanNews
When should participants share their photos?
The photo contest starts 28 April and closes 15 May. The awards will be given on 22 May, the International Day for Biological Diversity.
The contest will conclude during Laudato Si’ Week 2021, 16-24 May, when the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics will unite to celebrate the great progress the global Church has made on its journey to ecological conversion.
Laudato Si’ Week 2021 will also be a time to reflect on what the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us and to prepare for the future with hope.
How will participants know if they win?
They can sign up at laudatosiweek.org to be notified.
What can they win?
A joint diploma from the Vatican Dicastery for Communication and the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
An interview with Vatican News
Award-winning photos will be shared on social media by GCCM and the Vatican
Questions?
Participants can ask the Global Catholic Climate Movement questions on social (above) or by emailing [email protected].