Living Laudato Si’ in Your Mercy School
“What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” – Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ #160
The Mercy Justice Team has shared several new resources on Laudato Si’. We invite school administrators and educators to explore the following opportunities and resources within their school communities and classrooms.
Laudato Si’ Action Platform
This is a seven-year program sponsored by the Vatican that equips Catholic institutions, communities and families to implement Laudato Si. It can be used within families, educational institutions, parishes and dioceses and beyond. You can begin your seven-year journey anytime. Learn more here. For more information about enrolling in the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, please contact laudatosi@sistersofmercy.org.
The Institute of the Sisters of Mercy enrolled in 2021 and are documenting their seven-year journey on their website with resources including a self-assessment, action plan and more.
Some may choose not to formally enroll in the Platform but to consider taking actions related to one or more of the goals.
A Mercy Guide to Living Laudato Si’
This guide helps us reflect on and take action on the seven goals of Laudato Si’, offering inspiration and initial ideas. For each goal, reflection questions, suggested actions and resources are offered. Schools might find these to be valuable tools for classroom discussions, faculty and board meetings, retreat experiences and more. Get the guide here.
Now Available: Film on Laudato Si’, “The Letter”
The Laudato Si’ Movement launched a film on Laudato Si’ on October 4, 2022, directed by Nicolas Brown. According to the Laudato Si’ Movement website, the movie “follows diverse ecological advocates from around the world: a climate refugee from Senegal, a young activist from India, two marine biologists from the United States and the leader of an indigenous community in Brazil. They receive an invitation to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican.” The film is available here: https://theletterfilm.org/. Schools are asked to register for screenings, and with that free registration they will receive resources including curriculum and study guides. Please click “Host a Screening” at the top of the page.
Educational Tools
The Mercy Education website has a wide variety of resources on care for creation. View a full list of resources here, or jump specifically to Earth resources.
Do you have a resource to share? Or perhaps you have adapted some of the Laudato Si’ materials mentioned above in a way that you think would be helpful for other Mercy schools? Please contact us at mercyedu@sistersofmercy.org.
Looking Ahead
The 2023 Mercy Education Conference will take place in Jamaica and be focused on care for Earth. We encourage member schools to consider an Earth-related theme for their academic year beginning in 2023.
