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Hawai‘i Lives the Spirit of Laudato Si

May 5, 2025

(Gerlach Photos / Shutterstock.com)

From the Office for Social Ministry

“God of love, show us our place in this world, as channels of your love for all the creatures of this earth for not one of them is forgotten in your sight. Enlighten those who possess power and money so that they may avoid the sin of indifference, that they may love the common good, advance the weak, and care for this world in which we live. The poor and the earth are crying out. O Lord, help us to protect all life, to prepare for a better future, for the coming of your Kingdom of justice, peace, love and beauty. Praise be to You!” ~ Pope Francis, Laudato Si (Praise Be to God): On Care for Our Common Home May 6, 2015

While the world still mourns the passing of beloved Pope Francis, we mark the 10th anniversary of his encyclical, Laudato Si's calling all to respond to the compelling “cry of the earth and cry of the poor.” In this groundbreaking papal letter, Pope Francis called for an “ecological conversion” defined as the “transformation of hearts and minds toward greater love of God, each other, and creation”.Just as his namesake St. Francis, Pope Francis believed that protecting God’s creation is integral to a Christian life. “The care of the ‘common home’ is a responsibility we take on towards our neighbor and at the same time a way to recognize the infinite beauty of God” Laudato Si awakens our conscience, to recognize how the exploitation of the earth is connected to the exploitation of the poor, and how our response to one is directly tied to the other. “Everything is connected. Concern for the environment, thus, needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.”

Pope Francis also established the Laudato Si’s Higher Educational Center, a scientific, educational, and social activity organization dedicated to making the teachings of Laudato Si a living response to “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” The Holy Father entrusted the Laudato Si Center with the task of realizing the Borgo Laudato Si’ Project to transform the gardens of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo into a sustainable resource for all. The Borgo Laudato Si’ Project centers on education in integral ecology and fraternity, making it inclusive and accessible to everyone, especially to vulnerable people. From job training to educational courses, from immersion experiences into nature to seminars and cultural events, everything in this project is an opportunity to apply and implement the hopeful principles of Laudato Si.

Located in the mountains close to Rome, the Borgo Laudato Si Project is roughly 87 acres of gardens and 50 acres of agricultural land, greenhouses and service buildings that the Church is committed to preserving and developing through a “culture of caring for our common home”. The project was developed in three directions:” integral ecology education, circular and generative economy, and environmental sustainability. The project is responsible for the garden’s preservation, maintenance, care, and development, by applying new techniques and technological innovations to better protect this natural resource and preserve its integrity for present and future generations. In the agricultural acreage, production activities typical of the Pontifical farms are being reorganized and developed. By sharing, repairing, reconditioning, and recycling, the project also includes the creation of an energy community based on renewable sources. In every project activity, biodiversity preservation and harmonious interaction between human beings and nature is vitally important. Thanks to the creation of the Borgo Laudato Si’” Project, the beauty of the Pontifical Villas’ and Gardens has become the natural setting for the development of a place, open to all people of good will, to be trained in integral ecology for the common good. Most importantly, the model is inclusive and accessible to all vulnerable people.For more on Borgo Laudato Si Project and Educational Center, please visit the website, www.laudatosi.va

Here in Hawai‘i, between the majestic mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, we find a living echo of Laudato Si in the Punahoa Heritage Forest, a 1,300-acre parcel of ʻāina returned by the United Church of Christ as a gesture of reparation for its role in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Stewarded by the Pūʻā Foundation, this land is not only being reforested with “rust resistant” native ʻōhiʻa lehua and other healing plants—it is also healing the lives of women who have come out of prison, abuse, and trauma. These women—often shunned by society—are being restored alongside the land. Together, they become co-creators of a new way forward grounded in Hawaiian values like mālama ʻāina (care for the land), mālama kanaka (care for the people), This project is a shining example of Laudato Si hopefully being put into action.  For more on the Punahoa Heritage Project, please visit www.punahoaheritageforest.org.

We commemorate Pope Francis by carrying on the Gospel mission toserve with the vulnerable, whether that be the unhoused, the formerly incarcerated, or the earth itself. We join with Laudato Si inpraying “May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope. God of love, show us our place in this world as channels of your love for all the creatures of this earth. Laudato Si. Amen.” Mahalo.