“Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth”, Francis of Assisi sang these words in 1225, thanking the Lord and praising Him for all his creatures in a contemplative gaze that could transcend death. In 2015, he was echoed by the new Pope in the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’. Pope Francis soon chose to take the name of the Saint of Assisi, by whose words he express his heartfelt appeal to listen to the painful cry of our sister and mother Earth, in order to invite us all to “a global ecological conversion” (LS 5). It is urgent, he said (LS 13):
“to protect our common home, to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change.”
Therefore, we join the people of the whole world to celebrate the Earth and promote its protection, aiming day by day at “another lifestyle”. Aware that the whole creation has a common origin, and that living beings belong to each other in such a close relationship that every good or bad change affects everything, we walk with courage towards a future built together to leave a more beautiful world to future generations.