Laudato Si' resources
Find resources to reflect and respond to Laudato Si' in the light of your faith, including prayers, liturgies, a study guide and ideas for practical action.
As we mourn the loss of Pope Francis and pray for all those involved in the election of a new Pontiff, we also remember and celebrate Francis’ remarkable legacy.
2025 marks the tenth anniversary of his landmark encyclical Laudato Si’, a transformative call to “care for our common home”
Addressed to all people of good will, Laudato Si’ urged global action on climate change as a moral and social justice issue, highlighting the interconnected ‘cry of the earth’ and ‘the cry of the poor’.
Now ten years on, CAFOD partners and staff consider the impact of this groundbreaking encyclical and how it inspires us to act today.
Marcelo, Violeta and Mario, Bolivia
CAFOD supports our Bolivian partner, the National Network for Citizen Participation and Social Control, to work with indigenous rural communities to defend their rights and care for our common home. Marcelo, Violeta and Mario reflect:
“A decade after its publication, the importance of Laudato Sí’ is greater than ever. The climate crisis and inequality continue to worsen. This makes a personal and communal transformation urgent.”
Watch the video for a deeper reflection from our Bolivian partners.
Nana Anto-Awuakye, Catholic Engagement Coordinator
“For someone like me, working with CAFOD and who has travelled to communities on the climate frontlines—in Northern Kenya, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, for example, the climate crisis isn’t abstract. I’ve seen the droughts. I’ve listened to mothers explain how they struggle to feed their children, or find safe, clean water. These are not 'future problems.' They are today’s pressing issues.
Ten years on, Laudato Si’ remains our call to turn it around. Not just as individuals, but in global solidarity. Because the climate crisis is a human issue. A scientific issue. And it’s a spiritual one. And as Pope Francis puts it so beautifully, 'climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all.'"
Read more to discover why Phats & Small are Nana’s soundtrack to Laudato Si’
Bishop Abune Tesfasellassie, Bishop of the Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat
In conversation with Bishop Paul Swarbrick, who recently visited Ethiopia with CAFOD, Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin reflected on what good news the publication of Laudato Si’ was, especially in the context of the devastating impact the climate crisis has had on Tigray in Ethiopia.
“We have to care for our mother earth with all it contains for our survival today and for the next generation. Knowingly and unknowingly, with greed and ignorance we damage this body of our mother earth. So Laudato Si’ is a very welcome document that synthesises the theology and social and scientific implementations of conserving life on earth.”
Joanna Scott, St James’ Catholic Primary School in Hebburn
“CAFOD’s LiveSimply Award gave our school the perfect opportunity to support Pope Francis’ plea in Laudato Si’ to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor.
To help our families to live more sustainably, we asked them to reduce their carbon footprint -including fewer school drop offs in cars, waste free packing for school lunches and purchasing recycled clothing and school uniforms.
To live more simply we encouraged our families to get out into their local environment and to play games which rely less on technology.
To show our solidarity for the poor we promoted the importance of buying Fairtrade goods, raised funds for CAFOD’s global projects, and supported CAFOD’s efforts to protect small famers.
Our LiveSimply Award is now displayed proudly in our school. However, our mission to look after God’s world and the more vulnerable people who live within in it goes on indefinitely through the continued selfless work of our children, staff, families and wider school community.”
Find out more about the LiveSimply award for schools and parishes
Archbishop Bejoy D'Cruze, Bangladesh
“Bangladesh is a densely populated and highly polluted country... Laudato Si’ taught us to love nature, love the common home. We became aware of the climate crisis and it has great impact in our country. …We are 400,000 Catholics in Bangladesh, so we decided the Church will plant 400,000 trees and Caritas will plant 400,000 trees, so we planted 800,000 trees all over Bangladesh.”
Christine Allen, CAFOD Director
“Laudato Si’ has been of immense importance to CAFOD, as it provides the foundation for our strategic framework Our Common Home, which has been in place since 2019. We seek to ensure that our work around the world is not only providing real impact for the poorest and most vulnerable but that it is done in a way that cares for the earth. We seek to hear and respond to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
Of course, for the wider church, Laudato Si’ has been quite revolutionary! It has been the most widely read church document and something that has encouraged millions in taking action. It has spawned a global Laudato Si' movement and united Catholics around the world in seeking climate justice.
We celebrate ten years of Laudato Si’ in this Jubilee year. At the launch of the Jubilee year, Pope Francis talked about the ecological debt we owe to countries in the global south who suffer the most from climate impacts – either droughts, floods, degraded soil and extreme weather. Tackling the debt crisis is also one way to release funding for the climate crisis. “
Call for debt justice
Add your name to Pope Francis' call for world leaders to take action on the global debt crisis.