World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

Wednesday, Sep. 1, 2021

Location: Worldwide

In 2015, Pope Francis established the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation,” to be celebrated annually on Sept. 1. "It is a mistake to think that faith alone is sufficient for the Christian life, especially when it comes to complex moral problems that require both faith and reason. We must especially hold reason and conscience to the highest standards," wrote Archbishop Paul Coakley, chairman of U.S. bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development in his Sept. 1, 2021 statement on World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. "When it comes to the environment, climate change is one of the most serious moral challenges we face. The recent Sixth Assessment Report of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (“AR6 IPCC”) prompts us to exercise our ecological conscience and integrate the best available science with the truths of our Catholic faith. Not only is the IPCC report valuable in the content it provides9 for our conscience, but it also allows us to sharpen the process for enriching our ecological conscience. We invite every Christian concerned with the environment to seriously consider the findings of AR6 IPCC report." Learn more by visiting the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops