The World Day of Prayer for Creation is coming up soon, on September 1. That celebration will then kick off the extended Season of Creation.

A new website compiles useful resources to support the liturgical celebrations of this special day with the new Mass that Pope Leo added to the Missal: www.WorldDayCreation.com  

The website features the liturgical texts and various pastoral ideas to enrich the eucharistic celebrations, while also providing formation resources to understand the importance of this ecumenical observance and the practicalities about how to celebrate the new Mass. 

This year, the theme chosen by Pope Leo for the day of prayer on September 1 is: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4).

Following a recent webinar about this opportunity, the new website was prepared by a working group comprising the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE), Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), Union of Superiors General (USG), International Union of Superiors General (UISG), World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO), Laudato Si’ Movement, Laudato Si’ Research Institute, Don Bosco Green Alliance, Focolare Movement, Catholic Climate Covenant, and CADEIO.

The event last June counted with the participation of leaders from the different networks, as well as liturgical scholars from various academic institutions who explained the importance and practicalities of the liturgical celebrations of this day. Over 2500 people registered to the webinar, to prepare the celebrations in their episcopal conferences and local networks.

The hope is that these new resources can support Catholic parishes and communities with the novelty of this liturgy, while other Christian churches also celebrate this observance with enhanced liturgical formats such as that of the “Feast of Creation in Christ” in their calendars. Bottom line, it is about “unity in diversity” as we celebrate this special day with our various liturgical modalities.