Pope Leo XIV is asking Catholics around the world to recognize access to clean water not simply as an environmental concern, but as a matter of human dignity, Christian responsibility and care for God’s creation.
For his September 2026 prayer intention, the Holy Father is inviting the faithful to pray “for the care of water,” as the Church enters the annual Season of Creation.
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo released his monthly “Pray with the Pope” video through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, offering a prayer that connects the essential role of water in human life with its profound significance in the Christian faith.
The Pope prayed that water may remain a “source of fruitfulness, freshness, and hope,” while emphasizing that it is “a right without borders.”
Water carries particular meaning for Christians because it points beyond physical necessity to the life of grace. In Baptism, water becomes a visible sign of spiritual rebirth and God’s saving love.
The Pope reflected on both dimensions, noting that water “quenches thirst, nourishes the earth, and heals wounds,” while also recalling its place in Christian life as a symbol of God’s grace and renewal in Baptism.
His prayer also confronted the suffering experienced by people who do not have reliable access to safe drinking water.
“Forgive us for turning it into a commodity, forgetting that it is a universal gift, a right without borders, meant for all your children,” Pope Leo prayed, according to Vatican News. “We see with pain so many brothers and sisters who lack clean water, who walk for miles to find it, who become ill due to its scarcity.”
The concern is especially significant as Catholics and other Christians observe the Season of Creation, which begins Sept. 1 with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and continues through Oct. 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
This year’s theme, “Living Water,” draws attention to increasing freshwater scarcity and unequal access to this basic necessity.
According to figures cited by Vatican News from United Nations agencies, approximately 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. Another 106 million people depend entirely upon untreated surface water from sources such as rivers and lakes.
Pope Leo’s September intention, however, does not stop at recognizing the problem. He is also encouraging Christians to examine how their own daily choices affect the world’s water resources.
The press release accompanying the intention encouraged practical steps such as repairing leaks, taking shorter showers, turning off faucets when they are not being used and avoiding the pollution of drains and rivers.
In his prayer, Pope Leo asked the Holy Spirit to make Christians “pilgrims of the essential,” capable of living more simply while avoiding waste and pollution. He also called on the faithful to defend the right of every person to water so that people may drink “without fear and without inequality.”
Fr. Cristóbal Fones, International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, said the intention should move Christians from reflection to action.
“This prayer intention invites us to think deeply about creation, to safeguard it, and to look with God’s eyes on those who today have to walk for miles to obtain a bit of clean water, and to convert what we see into concrete actions that demonstrate moderation, care, and solidarity,” Fr. Fones said, according to Vatican News.
He summarized the urgency of the issue in simple terms: “No one should live without water, and no one should die because they lack water.”
For Catholics, the Pope’s September intention offers an opportunity to connect stewardship of creation with love of neighbor, particularly those whose lives are most affected by scarcity and poverty.
“May our care for water be a sign of love for the Creator and a commitment to the lives of the poor, educating new generations to value and protect the Earth’s resources,” Pope Leo concluded.
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