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Diocese of GalwayKilmacduagh & Kilfenora

Deoise na GaillimheChill Mac Duach & Chill Fhionnúrach

Laudato Si'

Bee on purple flowerLaudato Si’ Week 21–28 May 2023

Laudato Si’ Week, 21–28 May 2023, celebrates the 8th anniversary of the publication by Pope Francis of his encyclical on Care for our Common Home. The guiding theme this year is “Hope for the Earth. Hope for humanity”.

Pope Francis calls us to develop a “loving awareness” of this home we share and to act on the values we hold dear. (LS 220)

Laudato Si’ Week is an opportunity to celebrate the beauty, diversity, and interconnectedness of all of creation as well as the care of creation initiatives that offer hope for the future of our Common Home.

The film The Letter has been screened twice to audiences in this diocese. If you are interested in screening it in your parish area it is available to view at www.theletterfilm.org 

At their Spring meeting this year the Irish Bishops encouraged parishes to identify 30% of parish grounds and aim to rewild them by 2030 as a haven for insect pollinators.

If you are considering any capital projects in your parish which would benefit from an eco-friendly approach (solar panels, change in heating systems, etc.), please contact Tom Hansberry at finance@galwaydiocese.ie to see if he can assist with information on any grants available.


Diocesan Laudato Si' Working Group

“The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change.” (LS 13)

The Diocesan Laudato Si' Working Group was formed in mid-2021, with the aim of supporting the diocese in promoting the message of Laudato Si', and taking appropriate action to ensure our parishes and communities seriously embrace the critical message of Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical letter. 
The members of the group are: Mr Joe McKenna (convenor), Dr Darina McCarthy (diocesan office), Sr Moira McDowall, Br Ronan Sharpley OFM, Fr Joseph Roche, Fr Michael Connolly, and Bishop Michael Duignan.


Find the full Laudato Si' document here.

In Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', the pope issued an urgent challenge to the entire world "to protect our common home". He encouraged cultivating a deeper relationship with God's creation, alongside actions to address the multitude of ecological crises facing the planet, including climate change, deforestation and threats to biodiversity that jeopardize the survival of upward of one million plant and animal species.

The seven Laudato Si' goals address a range of areas related to sustainability and ecological conversion:

Response to the cry of the Earth Work toward carbon neutrality through greater use of clean renewable energy and reduced fossil fuel use; support efforts to protect and promote biodiversity and guarantee water access for all.
Response to the cry of the poor Defend human life from conception to death and all forms of life on earth, while giving special attention to vulnerable groups such as indigenous communities, migrants and children at risk of trafficking and slavery.
Ecological economics Sustainable production, fair trade, ethical consumption and investments, investments in renewable energy, divestment from fossil fuels and limiting any economic activity harmful to the planet or people.
Adoption of simple lifestyles Reduce use of energy and resources, avoid single-use plastics, adopt a more plant-based diet, reduce meat consumption and increase use of public transportation over polluting alternatives.
Ecological education Redesign curricula around integral ecology, create ecological awareness and action, promote ecological vocation with young people and teachers.
Ecological spirituality Recover a religious vision of God's creation, promote creation-centered liturgical celebrations, develop ecological catechesis and prayers and encourage more time in nature.
Community involvement Community involvement and participatory action around creation care at all levels of society by promoting advocacy and grassroots campaigns.


The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development invites Catholic communities across the world to gradually work toward total sustainability in the coming decade. As part of its plans, the dicastery outlined a multi-year Laudato si' action platform that in gradual stages will invite Catholic dioceses, religious orders, schools and other institutions to publicly commit to a seven-year journey toward ecological conversion and total sustainability. The action platform is framed across the seven Laudato si' goals listed above.

The Laudato si' action platform and its related goals resemble the United Nations' own sustainable development goals. The U.N. agenda lays out a blueprint for the global community by 2030 to achieve 17 goals addressing a range of issues, among them poverty, inequality, peace, hunger, water access, gender equality, clean energy and climate action.