Every story is a drop. Together, we become a river of Living Water.
For weeks, we have followed the river.
We have watched communities gather beside water, celebrate the Eucharist, listen to creation and hear the cries of wounded rivers.
Now, as the Season of Creation carries us closer to October 4, something is changing.
The water is moving through us.
Across the world, prayer is becoming participation. Contemplation is becoming a responsibility. And love for creation is finding its way into gardens, public spaces, communities and the choices we make together.
In Angola, preparing the ground for new life
In Luanda, Angola, the Season of Creation began with prayer at Blessed Anuarite Nengapeta Parish, accompanied by the Laudato Si’ Movement National Chapter.
Then the community got its hands dirty.
At the Cathedral of the Diocese of Viana, participants cleaned and prepared an area for an ecological garden.
It is a simple image of ecological conversion: prepare the soil, make room for life and trust that something new can grow.
In Brazil, care becomes participation
In Bacabal, Maranhão, Laudato Si’ Animators participated in a public hearing and contributed to the development of the Municipal Plan for Integrated Solid Waste Management.
In João Pessoa, Paraíba, a Laudato Si’ Circle joined the 2026 Cry of the Excluded, bringing care for our common home into a wider space of community participation.
Here, Living Water moves beyond reflection.
Prayer becomes participation. Care becomes responsibility.
In Ireland, sharing the journey
At St. Patrick’s and St. Brigid’s Church in Clane, County Kildare, Laudato Si’ Animator Anna McHugh created a Season of Creation display connecting water with the journeys of migrants forced to leave their homes because of climate change, war and other crises.
Under the invitation “Share the Journey,” parishioners are adding their own messages to a cloth.
It is a reminder that water is not only something we contemplate. For many people, crossing waters can be part of a difficult search for safety and freedom.
Living Water invites us to see their journey—and walk in solidarity.
In Salford, returning to the source
In England, 18 Laudato Si’ Animators from across the country gathered at the Laudato Si’ Centre in Salford.
They reflected on water, prayed a Via Creationis, explored Franciscan spirituality and visited the restored Salford Cathedral, where environmental care has shaped practical choices such as insulation, ground-source heating and LED lighting.
Their gathering ended with Mass in the woodlands.
Prayer among the trees brought them back to something beautifully Franciscan: creation is a gift, and gratitude for that gift changes the way we live.
In Scotland, Living Water becomes a prayer for peace
In Scotland, the river carried the Season of Creation into another urgent dimension: peace.
Representatives of the national Justice and Peace Commissions of the European Bishops’ Conferences, gathered for the International Workshop and General Assembly of Justice and Peace Europe, took part in a symbolic Season of Creation action in front of the HMNB Clyde naval base in Faslane.
Organized by the Scottish Justice and Peace Commission with the support of Laudato Si’ Movement, the gathering brought together prayer for peace, nuclear disarmament and care for water.
Archbishop William Nolan of Glasgow, Bishop-President of Justice and Peace Scotland, and Bishop Antoine Hérouard, Co-President of Justice and Peace Europe, were among those present.
Standing beside the waters of Scotland, their prayer reminds us that care for creation and the work of peace flow from the same desire: to protect life.
In Papua New Guinea, protecting life above and below the water
In Papua New Guinea, the Season of Creation is drawing attention to the relationship between coral reefs, livelihoods and community wellbeing.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands has highlighted the pressures created by harvesting live coral for lime production, while recognizing that this activity also supports livelihoods in some coastal communities. Their response brings together education and conversion, restoration and protection, and the search for sustainable alternatives.
In Aitape, this commitment became wonderfully tangible.
After celebrating Mass at St. Solano Chapel, the Franciscan Family gathered to bless seedlings, plants and domestic animals, committing themselves to planting trees, caring for gardens and land, protecting animals and keeping their surroundings clean.
Protect the coral beneath the water.
Nurture what grows from the soil.
Care for the creatures living alongside us.
Everything is connected.
In Kenya, young people carry the river forward
In Nairobi, young people from different faith traditions gathered for the Interfaith Youth Forum on Peace and Integral Ecology.
For two days, they explored connections between peace, climate justice, energy access and renewable energy.
Then they took their message into the streets through a Climate Procession, calling attention to peace and dialogue, care for our common home, a just transition and accessible renewable energy.
Their work will continue through advocacy and dialogue around renewable energy, energy access and peace.
Living Water finds its voice in a new generation—when young people carry faith from conversation into action.
Where will the river flow through us?
Luanda. Bacabal. João Pessoa. Clane. Salford. Aitapé. Nairobi.
A garden. A public hearing. A message for a migrant. A prayer in the woods. A coral reef. A blessed seedling. Young people walking together.
They may look like very different stories.
But they belong to the same river.
As we approach the final days of this Season of Creation and the Feast of St. Francis, perhaps the question is becoming more personal.
Not only:
Where is Living Water flowing?
But:
Where will Living Water flow through me?
Every prayer is a drop.
Every choice is a drop.
Every action is a drop.
Together, let the Living Water flow.
→ Share your Living Water story
→ Explore Season of Creation resources