From October 1st to 3rd, we took part in the Raising Hope Conference in Castel Gandolfo, Italy. The event marked the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’. During the conference, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the Catholic community’s commitment to continuing Pope Francis’s legacy of caring for our common home. The gathering also brought together several leading figures engaged in environmental action and reflection.
Published in 2015, the Encyclical Laudato Si’ is one of the most significant documents of the modern Catholic Church. Pope Francis states that our current ecological crisis requires a change of attitude in our hearts. He connects our destruction of creation to our vast “interior deserts” that lead to frenetic activity, busyness, and overconsumption. It invites all humanity—not only Christians—to embrace an integral ecology, one that unites care for the planet, for the poor, and for the human heart. More than a religious text, it is an urgent call to ecological conversion, to a change of lifestyle and a shared responsibility in the face of today’s environmental and social crises. Laudato Si’ reminds us that everything is interconnected, and that true progress arises from harmony between faith, science, and care for creation.
Pope Francis also highlights the importance of contemplating creation as a way to reconnect with the sacred presence that dwells in all things.
In this sense, Christian meditation becomes a powerful ally in caring for our common home. By quieting the mind and opening the heart to the divine presence, we learn to see the world not as a resource to be exploited but as a gift to be loved and protected. The practice of meditation awakens a deeper awareness of unity: we realize that the earth, the rivers, the animals, and all people are part of a single web of life sustained by God’s love. Meditation moves us from indifference to compassion, from distraction to presence, and from exploitation to loving care for all creation.
This partnership between contemplative spirituality and ecological care is especially meaningful for young people, who are both the most affected by the environmental crisis and the key agents of transformation in our time. Laudato Si’ and Christian meditation offer them not just information, but inner formation—a path to cultivate hope, discernment, and commitment to the common good. When young people learn to contemplate creation, they rediscover their sense of belonging and responsibility, realizing that the future of the planet depends on choices made with consciousness and love. This integration of faith, action, and contemplation nurtures a generation capable of acting with wisdom, bridging science and spirituality, and building a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world.
Therefore, in 2026, the WCCM Young Adults Program plans to deepen this partnership with Laudato Si Movement, integrating experiences that unite spirituality, ecology, and concrete action. Among these initiatives are the retreat in Bonnevaux, the spiritual center of the World Community for Christian Meditation, and the Terra Laudato Si’ initiative in Assisi, Italy. This integration aims to offer young people a transformative experience where silence, prayer, and contemplation of nature become ethical commitment and active care for creation. We believe that by strengthening the bridge between meditation and ecological action, we will help form a generation that is more conscious, connected, and inspired to answer Pope Francis’s call: to care for our common home with awakened hearts and hands in motion.
With this vision, we hope to inspire a new way of being in the world—a spirituality that unites silence and action, contemplation and commitment. Through meditation and ecological engagement, we seek to move from the path of apathy and indifference to the path of hope and care. May each young person discover, in this encounter between faith and creation, their role as guardians of life and messengers of a more compassionate, sustainable, and deeply human future.
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