Laudato Si' Week programme

On Sunday, 22 May, Pope Francis will inaugurate Laudato Si' Week 2022 at the Angelus Prayer from St Peter's Square in Rome. The week, 22-29 May, will mark the seventh anniversary of Pope Francis' landmark encyclical on creation care.

The invitation to celebrate Laudato Si' Week comes as India and Pakistan have experienced roasting temperatures and Australia unprecedented floods over the last few months. Pope Francis has called for a "new ecological approach that can transform our way of dwelling in the world, our lifestyles, our relationship with the resources of Earth and, in general, our way of looking at humanity and of living life."

Here in Britain, Hexham and Newcastle Diocese is holding a Mass at St Mary's Cathedral at 7pm on Monday 23 May. Bishop Robert Byrne will celebrate the Mass and Fr Chris Hughes will give the Homily on 'Hearing the Cry of the Poor and the Earth'.

International events, available online, include the opening of Laudato Si' Week on 22 May by Pope Francis, a 'No More Biodiversity Collapse' webinar on the morning of 23 May and a focus on 'Fossil Fuels, Violence, and the Climate Crisis' on 25 May. An all-day prayer event on 29 May takes the theme, 'Community resilience and empowerment as part of our Synodal Journey.'

All global events will be broadcast on Laudato Si' Movement Facebook page www.facebook.com/LaudatoSiMovement/ and YouTube channels. Times below are given in British Summer Time (BST)

SUNDAY MAY 22

11am Sunday Angelus by Pope Francis

2pm Prayer Gathering from Uganda

As oil companies continue to pursue the construction of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline and the destruction of creation, Ugandans will host a Laudato Si' Mass, restore creation by planting trees, and listen to the cry of the Earth.

MONDAY MAY 23

9am 'No More Biodiversity Collapse: Rebalancing Social Systems With Nature'

Broadcast live from the Australian Catholic University in Rome, Father Joshtrom Kureethadam of the Vatican will lead a dynamic conversation centered on raising Indigenous voices ahead of the United Nations biodiversity conference later this year.

Featured speakers:

Sr Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
Theresa Ardler, Research Indigenous Liaison Officer at Australian Catholic University, Director and Owner of Gweagal Cultural Connections
Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam
Vandana Shiva, founder of Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in India and President of Navdanya International

TUESDAY MAY 24

Empowering ECO-immunity: Embracing the poor

Broadcast live from the Metropolitan-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, or the Manila Cathedral, communities throughout the Philippines will partner with the Archdiocese of Manila for this daylong event that will inspire all to accelerate their response to the cry of the poor.

WEDNESDAY MAY 25

2pm Fossil Fuels, Violence, and the Climate Crisis

World-renowned professor and author Jeffrey D Sachs will lead an urgent conversation about how faith-based institutions can lead the way to a cleaner and safer future by divesting from fossil fuels.

Featured speakers:

Omar Elmawi, stopEACOP coalition of 350.org
Svitlana Romanko, Stand With Ukraine
Whitney Terrell, Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light
Martin Kopp, GreenFaith
Bishop Domenico Sorrentino (Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino, Italy)
Davide Panzeri, ECCO, Italian climate change think tank

THURSDAY MAY 26

2.30pm Investing in Laudato Si'

Led by FaithInvest, this innovative event will engage Catholic institutional investors in a conversation about ethical investing and how they can ensure their assets are in line with Laudato Si'. Broadcast live from Wicklow, Ireland, this event also will feature the special launch of the Laudato Si' Action Platform Investor Hub.

Featured speakers:

Sr Colette Kane OP, An Tairseach
Lorna Gold, FaithInvest and Laudato Si' Movement board president
Nana Francois, FaithInvest
Elizabeth Garlow, Economy of Francesco

FRIDAY MAY 27

1pm Sneak Peek: Feature Documentary on Laudato Si'

Footage from The Invitation, a new feature-length documentary film on Laudato Si', will be shown to the general public for the first time during a live-streaming event. The Invitation will have its global release later this year.

Registration is required at: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LYzV0ZEKSbS01bAyXbKZzQ.

The event will feature:

A trailer of the film along with footage of Pope Francis and ecological champions. This will be the first time this material is shown to the general public. The event will not be recorded and clips will not be available after the event. Because this footage is not yet released, recording it is prohibited.

Remarks by Fr Joshtrom Kureethadam, head of the ecology sector in the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

SATURDAY MAY 28

8pm Laudato Si' Festival

The Laudato Si' Festival live from Assisi will showcase Catholic artists from across the globe who are using their talents to raise awareness about the need to care for our common home.

SUNDAY MAY 29

2pm CEST Laudato Si' Week Closing Prayer Gathering: Community resilience and empowerment as part of our Synodal Journey

Live from Brumadinho, Brazil, Mgr Vicente de Paula Ferreira will lead a prayer gathering to officially close Laudato Si' Week 2022. The gathering will carry a special focus on those affected by the climate crisis and bear witness to testimonies from people affected.

In January 2019, a dam collapse in Brumadinho poured millions of tons of toxic waste into nearby communities and killed 270 people.

LINKS

Laudato Si Movement on Youtube - www.youtube.com/channel/UClR9vhKimNUhIVyKM1X3QVA

Laudato Si Week 2022 programme - https://laudatosiweek.org/allevents/

Laudato Si' Movement Facebook - www.facebook.com/LaudatoSiMovement/