Christians around the world are beginning September with a shared call to prayer and action for the care of God’s creation as the Catholic Church marks the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.
Observed each year on Sept. 1, the day also opens the Season of Creation, an annual ecumenical observance that continues through Oct. 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
According to Vatican News, this year marks the 11th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in the Catholic Church, bringing Christians together to reflect on their responsibility to protect the natural world and care for those most affected by environmental harm.
The observance has deep ecumenical roots. Vatican News reports that Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I established Sept. 1 as a Day of Prayer for Creation for the Orthodox Church in 1989. The date coincides with the beginning of the Orthodox ecclesiastical year and recalls the biblical account of creation.
Efforts to expand the observance continued in the years that followed. In 2007, the Third European Ecumenical Assembly proposed extending the celebration for five weeks, and the World Council of Churches later encouraged Christian communities to continue the observance through Oct. 4.
A significant moment for Catholics came in 2015. Following the publication of Laudato Si’, Pope Francis established the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in the Catholic Church and aligned the Catholic observance with the Orthodox celebration on September 1.
Today, the Season of Creation is supported by Christian organizations including the Laudato Sì Movement, World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation and Anglican Communion, according to Vatican News.
The observance comes as Church leaders continue to emphasize the connection between care for creation and care for human beings, particularly those suffering from poverty, displacement and conflict.
Vatican News noted that Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly highlighted how the climate crisis is intertwined with conflict, displacement and injustice. His message for this year’s World Day also warns that “the wounds of war extend beyond the battlefield.”
The Catholic Church has taken another step in this effort through Pope Leo’s decree establishing the Missa pro custodia creationis, or Mass for the Care of Creation, together with a new formulary for the Roman Missal.
According to Vatican News, the development reflects the Church’s continuing commitment to respond to both “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” while supporting local Churches in caring for our common home and pursuing integral human ecology.
For Catholics, the Season of Creation offers more than an environmental observance. It provides an opportunity to recognize creation as a gift from God and to consider how prayer, stewardship and care for others are connected within Christian life.
From September 1 through the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4, Christians are invited to make that responsibility part of their prayer and action, joining believers around the world in giving thanks for creation and working to protect the common home entrusted to humanity.
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