Si' Animators' gathering at Saint Columban's, Solihull

LS Animators strolling through the rewilded land

Bees, butterflies, hedgehogs and trees featured in our visit to St Columban's, UK base of the Columban Missionaries, on Friday 15th May 2026. Laudato Si' Animators came together from various parts of England: Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Liverpool and London. We were the first to walk along the yellow path which now meanders through six acres: some were previously used as pasture for horses - now all are rewilding. (How appropriate that the estate was once owned by the Bird family!)

We were welcomed by James Trewby, the Columbans in Britain's lay co-ordinator for Justice, Peace and Ecology, and by Frs Tim Mulroy and John Boles SSC.

Fr Tim explained how Columbans first became aware of the plight of those living in territories in South America and the Far East, who were losing their land, culture and livelihoods because of rampant exploitation by big international logging and mining companies: inhabitants were being displaced and their lands polluted.

The Columbans helped indigenous people to regain their rights and resist these destructive forces, so that ecology has become an important part of their mission. It was Fr Seán McDonagh SSC who alerted the bishops of the Philippines to the crisis caused by monoculture of pineapples: this was instrumental in shaping the bishops' historic 1988 pastoral letter, What is happening to our Beautiful Land? quoted in Laudato Si'.

As we wandered along the newly-laid path we observed some of the thousands of trees which have been planted amongst the existing mature trees, and the ponds which host a variety of creatures including the great crested newt. A local hedgehog treatment centre brings recovered hedgehogs to be released back into the wild. There are also bee hives and an insect hotel.

Groups of school children come to receive an immersive experience of wildlife and teachers for training in ecology. James said how rewarding it was to observe children's enthusiasm when they encountered butterflies and bees in their natural habitat, so far from their city homes.

We were treated to a delicious vegetarian lunch which provoked discussion about sustainable diets.

Afterwards Fr Tim led us to the old stable which has been restored and furnished with simple benches and a wooden altar. There we celebrated Holy Mass together, using the Creation Mass Liturgy. Fr Tim spoke of the symbolism of the manger in the stable at Bethlehem, where animals received their nourishment, just as we receive nourishment in the Holy Eucharist.

LAUDATO SI' ANIMATORS UK

The Laudato Si' Movement grew out of the Global Catholic Climate Movement, to further the aims of Pope Francis' groundbreaking encyclical letter Laudato Si' ('LS'), with the intention of activating the world's 1.4 billion Catholics to tackle the environmental crises.

Laudato Si' Animators (LSA) are people, mainly Catholics, who have graduated from the LS Movement's Course, which is set up to educate and enable participants to inspire others, in parishes, schools and in the world at large, to engage in dialogue and action on the current environmental crises, as described in LS.

LS Animators are dedicated to encouraging the growth of the roots planted by Pope Francis through a variety of actions and groups, established in response to LS's urgent call for action.

In the eleven years since Pope Francis published LS, the number of Animators has steadily grown. In the UK there are over a hundred who are active: worldwide there are thousands.

Perhaps the most important contributions to promoting LS are the green groups that Animators have set up in their parishes. These are active in advocating for our common home, for example by organising actions such as a Sharing Fair initiative, which asks parishioners to offer their unwanted possessions to others instead of binning them.

Numbers of Animators (as reported in LSM Newsletter 2025): we are beyond blessed to now have 19,000+ certified LS Animators, 500+ Member Organizations, 700+ Circles, and 80 Chapters in 145+ countries taking action together.

HANDBOOK / GUIDE: https://laudatosianimators.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/guia_EN.pdf

Email for contacting the Animators: hello@laudatosimovement.org

Animators' website Page and Articles: https://sites.google.com/laudatosimovement.org/lsaintheuk

LSM Animators' website: https://laudatosianimators.org/