Pope Leo has chosen a very different theme for the 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, celebrated on Sept. 1: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4). The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said the Holy Father’s message focuses on how armed conflicts violate our duty to care for creation by destroying the natural world and threatening the lives of millions of people.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops noted, “American Catholics … are learning more, caring more, and doing more about the environment and threats to it. As a community of faith, we are also seeking to understand more clearly the ethical and religious dimensions of this challenge.” One of the most powerful things we can do as Catholics is to pray for both care for creation and for world leaders to find peaceful solutions to disputes. Prayers, Scripture readings and more for both topics can be found on the USCCB website.