Pope Leo XIV has turned to the Book of Isaiah for the theme for this year’s World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, traditionally celebrated on September 1. Source: Vatican News.
The Pope has chosen the theme “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks”(Is 2:4).
In the statement from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development making the announcement, the dicastery said the Holy Father’s Message for the Day highlights the connection between armed conflict and environmental degradation.
Such degradation, it underscored, constitutes both a serious violation of our duty to care for creation, as well as a long-term threat to the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
Moreover, it said, “the now widespread awareness of the impact of war on natural resources has not led to the creation of adequate institutions or to responsible decisions aimed at preventing conflicts and resolving disputes peacefully”.
The statement concluded that the theme, taken from the passage in which the Prophet Isaiah prophesies the transformation of weapons into agricultural tools, “is an explicit invitation to prioritise development and sustainability over violence and destruction”.
FULL STORY
Vatican announces theme for 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation (By Deborah Castellano Lubov, Vatican News)
