MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS

POPE LEO XIV

FOR THE 10th WORLD DAY OF PRAYER

FOR THE CARE OF CREATION 2025

[1 September 2025]

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Seeds of Peace and Hope

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The theme of this World Day of Prayer for the Care of

Creation, chosen by our beloved Pope Francis, is “Seeds of

Peace and Hope”. On the tenth anniversary of the

establishment of this Day of Prayer, which coincided with the

publication of the Encyclical Laudato Si’, we find ourselves

celebrating the present Jubilee as “Pilgrims of Hope.” This

year’s theme thus appears most timely.

In proclaiming the Kingdom of God, Jesus often used the

image of the seed. As the time of his Passion drew near, he

applied that image to himself, comparing himself to the grain

of wheat that must die in order to bear fruit (cf. Jn 12:24).

Seeds are buried in the earth, and there, to our wonder, life

springs up, even in the most unexpected places, pointing to the

promise of new beginnings. We can think, for example, of

flowers springing up on our roadsides from seeds that landed

up there almost by chance. As those flowers grow, they

brighten the gray tarmac and even manage to break through

its hard surface.

In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, “seeds of peace and

hope.” The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Spirit of God can

make an arid and parched desert into a garden, a place of rest

and serenity. In his words, “a spirit from on high will be poured

out on us, and the wilderness will become a fruitful field, and

the fruitful field a forest. Then justice will dwell in the

wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. The

work of righteousness will be peace, and the work of

righteousness, quietness and trust forever. My people will

abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet

resting places” (Is 32:15-18).

These words of the prophet will accompany the “Season of

Creation,” an ecumenical initiative to be celebrated from 1

September to 4 October 2025. They remind us that, together

with prayer, determination and concrete actions are necessary

if this “caress of God” is to become visible to our world (cf.

Laudato Si’, 84). The prophet contrasts justice and law with

the desolation of the desert. His message is extraordinarily

timely, given the evidence in various parts of the world that

our earth is being ravaged. On all sides, injustice, violations of

international law and the rights of peoples, grave inequalities

and the greed that fuels them are spawning deforestation,

pollution and the loss of biodiversity. Extreme natural

phenomena caused by climate changes provoked by human

activity are growing in intensity and frequency (cf. Laudato

Deum, 5), to say nothing of the medium and long-term effects

of the human and ecological devastation being wrought by

armed conflicts.

As yet, we seem incapable of recognizing that the destruction

of nature does not affect everyone in the same way. When

justice and peace are trampled underfoot, those who are most

hurt are the poor, the marginalized and the excluded. The

suffering of indigenous communities is emblematic in this

regard.

That is not all. Nature itself is reduced at times to a

bargaining chip, a commodity to be bartered for economic or

political gain. As a result, God’s creation turns into a

battleground for the control of vital resources. We see this in

agricultural areas and forests peppered with landmines,

“scorched earth” policies, [1] conflicts over water sources, and

the unequal distribution of raw materials, which penalizes the

poorer nations and undermines social stability itself.

These various wounds are the effect of sin. This is surely not

what God had in mind when he entrusted the earth to the men

and women whom he created in his image (cf. Gen 1:24-29).

The Bible provides no justification for us to exercise “tyranny

over creation” (Laudato Si’, 200). On the contrary, “the biblical

texts are to be read in their context, with an appropriate

hermeneutic, recognizing that they tell us to ‘till and keep’ the

garden of the world [cf. Gen 2:15]. ‘Tilling’ refers to

cultivating, ploughing or working, while ‘keeping’ means caring,

protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a

relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and

nature” (ibid., 67).

Environmental justice – implicitly proclaimed by the prophets

can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant

goal. It is an urgent need that involves much more than simply

protecting the environment. For it is a matter of justice

social, economic and human. For believers it is also a duty born

of faith, since the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ,

in whom all things were created and redeemed. In a world

where the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters are the

first to suffer the devastating effects of climate change,

deforestation and pollution, care for creation becomes an

expression of our faith and humanity.

Now is the time to follow words with deeds. “Living our

vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a

life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our

Christian experience” (Laudato Si’, 217). By working with love

and perseverance, we can sow many seeds of justice and thus

contribute to the growth of peace and the renewal of hope. It

may well take years for this plant to bear its first fruits,

years that, for their part, involve an entire ecosystem made up

of continuity, fidelity, cooperation and love, especially if that

love mirrors the Lord’s own self-sacrificing Love.

Among the Church’s initiatives that are like seeds sown in this

field, I would mention the Borgo Laudato Si’ project that Pope

Francis bequeathed to us at Castel Gandolfo. It is a seed that

promises to bear fruits of justice and peace, and an

educational project in integral ecology that can serve as an

example of how people can live, work and build community by

applying the principles of the Encyclical Laudato Si’.

I pray that Almighty God will send us in abundance his “Spirit

from on high” (Is 32:15), so that these seeds, and others like

them, may bring forth an abundant harvest of peace and hope.

The Encyclical Laudato Si’ has now guided the Catholic Church

and many people of good will for ten years. May it continue to

inspire us and may integral ecology be increasingly accepted as

the right path to follow. In this way, seeds of hope will

multiply, to be “tilled and kept” by the grace of our great and

unfailing Hope, who is the risen Christ. In his name, I offer all

of you my blessing.

From the Vatican, 30 June 2025

Memorial of the First Martyrs of Holy Roman Church

LEO PP. XIV

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[1] Cf. PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE,

Land and Food, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2015, 51-53.

Vaticana