Laudato Si’ Week 2026
Laudato Si’ Week is a celebration held annually from May 17-24 to mark the anniversary of Pope Francis’s landmark encyclical on caring for our common home. Sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, this global celebration unites Catholics to listen and respond together to the cry of creation, rejoice in the progress we have made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life, and intensify our efforts through the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, as well as other opportunities for education and action. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference committed to celebrating Laudato Si’ Week annually in their Social Justice Statement (2021-22): Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor. 2026
Theme for 2026: From Hope to Action
Laudato Si’ Week 2026 invites us to move from hope to action. Hope is not passive; it is lived and shared through daily decisions, community life, prayer and concrete acts of care. This commemorative year reminds us that ecological conversion grows step by step, through restored relationships, protected creation, and strengthened communities. The next chapter of Laudato Si’ begins with us, wherever we are.
Reflection from Sandra Dillon:
Laudato Si’ Week is celebrated annually from May 17-24 to mark the anniversary of Pope Francis landmark encyclical Laudato Si’ in 2015 on caring for our common home. Sponsored by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Human Development, this unites Catholics to listen and respond together to the cry of creation. This encyclical has resonated with people of many faiths and none, throughout the world.
This encyclical was followed by the Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum in 2023, eight years later in which he wrote, “I wanted to share with all of you, my brothers and sisters of our suffering planet, my heartfelt concerns about the care of our common home. Yet, with the passage of time, I have realised that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be near the breaking point. In addition to this possibility, it is indubitable that the impact of climate change will increasingly prejudice the lives and families of many persons.”
Last October 2025, Pope Leo presided over the 10th anniversary celebration of Laudato Si’ in Rome, where an estimated 1000 representatives from environmental and indigenous groups were gathered and told them they needed to put pressure on national governments to develop tougher standards to mitigate the damage already done. He said that some leaders had chosen to “deride the evident signs of climate change, to ridicule those who speak of global warning and even to blame the poor for the very thing that affects them most”.
Pope Leo is strongly continuing Pope Francis’ call for ecological conversion.
Laudato Si’ week 2026 theme is “From Hope to Action” urging Catholics and all people of good will to take concrete steps to protect creation. Please choose one effective action this week (links below) and place it on the Action Platform site of the global grass roots Laudato Si’ Movement’s Action Platform. to inspire others here and elsewhere in the world.
In honour of Laudato Si’ Week, the Cathedral Parish Earthcare Group has thoughtfully created a special display to mark this important time in the Church’s calendar. This year’s theme, “Hope to Action: One Week, One Action – A Global Catholic Response,” invites all of us to move beyond awareness and into practical steps that care for our common home.
The display encourages parishioners to reflect on how each of us can make a meaningful contribution, no matter how small, toward protecting the environment and promoting ecological justice. Laudato Si’ Week is an opportunity to come together as a global Catholic community, united in prayer, reflection and action inspired by Pope Francis’ call to care for creation.
We warmly invite everyone to explore the Parish Resource associated with Laudato Si’ Week, where you will find a variety of simple yet impactful actions you can take during this week. Whether it is reducing waste, conserving energy, supporting local environmental initiatives or deepening your understanding of ecological spirituality, each action contributes to a larger, collective effort.
Our sincere thanks go to Deneise Walsh and Joanne Rix for their time, creativity, and dedication in putting the above display together. Their work helps to inspire and guide our parish community as we respond in hope and action.
Prayer for Laudato Si’ Week 2026
All powerful God,
you are present in the universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with your peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor, help us to rescue the abandoned
and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognise that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day. Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle,
for justice, love and peace. Amen.