Laudato Si’ Week marks the eighth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on care for creation.

The global celebration takes place from 21-28 May and this year parishes are encouraged to host a screening of the film The Letter (see the trailer below).

The film tells the story of four 'social poets' affected first-hand by the climate crisis who travel to Rome to meet Pope Francis.

It is the main resource for the week's events. Find out how to organise a screening here. Alternatively, watch it on YouTube.

Several global events will take place during the week, including an event dedicated to The Letter on Saturday 27 May and the conclusion of the Week on Pentecost, Sunday 28 May.

What is Laudato Si' Week?

Laudato Si’ Week began as a way to celebrate the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ papal encyclical letter, Laudato Si’: On Care For Our Common Home.

Since then, the annual celebration is away for Catholics to unite and rejoice in the progress made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life and to commit ourselves to further prayer and action for our common home.

The annual event is organized by the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and facilitated by the Laudato Si' Movement together with other partners.

For more information visit the laudatosiweek.org website, and fill out the form to register your interest and receive the latest news.

Laudato Si’ Week has begun, marking the seventh anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the care of creation.

It features a series of global celebrations and a sneak peek of The Invitation, a new film featuring Pope Francis. See the full schedule here.

It takes place from May 22-29 to celebrate the progress made in bringing Laudato Si’ to life and intensify their efforts through the Vatican’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform.

Tomás Insua, Executive Director of Laudato Si’ Movement, said: "Amidst chaos and destruction globally, every day Catholics take urgent action against the climate emergency and ecological crisis. Laudato Si’ Week will serve as a fountain of inspiration and lessons learned for all people interested in saving God’s creation.”

Each day of Laudato Si’ Week will feature global, regional, and local events tied to one of the seven Laudato Si’ goals.

On the day celebrating ecological education, footage from The Invitation, a new feature-length documentary film on Laudato Si’, will be shown to the general public during a livestream. The Invitation will have its global release later this year. The event begins at 1pm on 27 May. Registration is required at this link.

Catholics are encouraged to inspire their community by registering their local events at LaudatoSiWeek.org. Read this full article at laudatosiweek.org

Laudato Si is Pope Francis' encycical on caring for our common home. Read it here. Find out more about becoming a Laudato Si school here.

Parishes across the Archdiocese can mark the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si' by setting up an online reflection group to learn more about the encyclical.

Published by Pope Francis in 2015, it highlights how environmental damage impacts most greatly on the poor and that there must be social, economic and environmental justice to help care for "Our Common Home".

The Archdiocesan Caritas, Justice & Peace commission has set up a working group on Laudato Si' which is preparing ways to help raise awareness and celebrate the Pope's message.

One parish already involved in promoting the encyclical is Ss Ninian and Triduana in Edinburgh, which has set up a weekly online meeting over six weeks.

A post on the parish Facebook page (above) states: "Each week you will receive a Reflection Guide that will link to a specific section of Laudato Si’. We will then meet to pray, share our insights and look at what action individually and as a community, we might be able to take in response to our reflection."

This programme of study is based on material from the Earthbeat section of the National Catholic Reporter, titled 'Digging into Laudato Si'.

Rab Burnett, a parishioner at SS Ninian & Triduana, helped put a version of the programme together and is encouraging people to become Laudato Si Animators. The role, highlighted by the Global Catholic Climate Movement, involves helping bring Laudato Si' to life in parish communities.

"I decided to become Laudato Si' Animator since I felt strongly that as a follower of Jesus, responding to 'the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor' is the fundamental challenge for the Church and indeed for all humankind. The programme helped me to gain new insights into the climate challenge and how it is impacting on the poor and then, based on prayer and discernment, seek ways to take action."

Fr Basil Clark, Vicar Episcopal for Caritas, Justice & Peace, has been highlighting the encyclical's anniversary year (24 May 2020- 24 May 2021) to priests in our diocese and has shared the anniversary year programme with them.

• The Laudato Si' online programme for parishes can be found here here. Interested in becoming a Laudato Si' animator? The next course begins on 29 July - click here for details or contact rjsburnett@gmail.com
• Read Laudato Si' here