In this guest article, Virginia Bell looks at the work of Laudato Si’ Animators in the UK.

Laudato Si’ Animators Embrace Pope Francis’ Legacy 10 years on from Laudato Si’

The Laudato Si’ Movement (LSM) Conference ‘Raising Hope for Climate Justice’ at Castel Gandolfo on 1st-3rd October this year was enthusiastically enjoyed by LSM Animators. The Conference had a three-fold aim: to celebrate 10 years of Laudato Si’, to build relationships and to commit to action for our common home. One of the resources offered by the Conference organisers and worth mentioning is the booklet ‘Our common home. A guide to caring for our living planet’, produced jointly by the Holy See and the Stockholm Environment Institute. This can be found on their website and can be downloaded from this page.

The Laudato Si’ Movement grew out of the Global Catholic Climate Movement, to further the aims of Pope Francis’ groundbreaking Encyclical Laudato Si’, with the intention of activating the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to tackle the environmental crises.

Laudato Si’ Animators (LSA) are people, mainly Catholics, who have graduated from the Laudato Si’ Movement’s Course, which is set up to educate and enable participants to inspire others, in parishes, schools and in the world at large, to engage in dialogue and action on the current environmental crises. We do this under the aegis of the LS Encyclical.

LS Animators are dedicated to encouraging the growth of the roots planted by Pope Francis, through the many varied actions and groups we have established as permanent tributes to the Encyclical and reminders of the urgent call for action on the environment that the Encyclical puts before us.

The primary focus of the LSA Course is for us to strive to live Laudato Si’ in our own lives. The secondary focus is to animate others to live Laudato Si’. Those who are interested in enrolling will find more information here.

In the ten years since Pope Francis published the LS Encyclical, the number of Animators has steadily grown. In the UK there are over a hundred who are active. Worldwide there are thousands. We encourage our dioceses to inform and educate about LS in their parishes. If more Catholics knew about LS, more would take the LSM Animators Course.

Perhaps the most important contributions to promoting Laudato Si’ are the green groups that Animators have set up in their parishes. These green groups are active in advocating for our common home, for example by organising actions such as Menchu’s Sharing Fair initiative, which asks parishioners to offer their unwanted possessions to others instead of binning them (see photo below). And David Ryan’s St Paul’s & St Timothy’s Parish LS Group’s initiative of setting up recycling bins in both parishes (see photo below).

Other examples of green groups are Animator Martin Davis’s ecumenical Cheltenham Laudato Si’ Circle which has a Facebook page and arranges prayers, walks, talks and discussions, often with shared meals (https://www.facebook.com/groups/449497646814960/). The LS Circle in Oxford based at Blackfriars which Animator Anna FitzPatrick attends, includes parishioners but has a wider base than just the parish, and collaborates with Christian Climate Action every year during the Season of Creation to organise an ecumenical Pilgrimage for the Planet through Oxford (see photo below).

Animators regularly attend pilgrimages and protest marches for the environment. Oxford based artist and Animator Helen Elwes has painted a banner ‘Mother of Mercy’ inspired by Pope Francis’s words in Laudato Si. It is a contemporary icon of Mary kneeling in the burning Rainforest with figures from all nations and endangered animals taking shelter under her blue protecting cloak (see photo below).
Helen has carried this banner on pilgrimages, vigils and protest marches around the country, including walking 200 miles on the ‘Camino to Cop’ to the International Climate Conference in Glasgow in 2021 (see also the COP29 pilgrimage).

Facebook pages have been set up by individual Animators or by their parish group, such as my group FB page (https://www.facebook.com/mklaudatosigroup/).

Some Animators have set up parish websites, like Brian Austin’s parish site. This is David Ryan’s LS Group page on the St Paul’s & St Timothy’s Parish website. LS Animators in the UK also have a general website.

The UK Animators have regular meetings, convened by John Woodhouse, to which Animators can bring any matter that they want to discuss, and during which we plan activities such as Season of Creation actions, retreats, parish events and so on.

We have a Network of Animators in England and Wales, with a LSA Contact in almost every Diocese. There are also active Animators in Scotland who are part of the Network. The Contacts keep in touch with the Animators in their diocese, for mutual support,information, resources and to plan actions.

We also provide comments on news, views, events etc through our Writing Group, which can be called on to write articles as required. LSM occasionally posts our articles on our website, on this page.

We get together every year at the Laudato Si’ Centre in Salford, to celebrate past actions and to discuss future actions (see photo below). The Laudato Si’ Centre is the Diocese of Salford’s response to the LS Encyclical. It aims to be a place of education, inspiration and hope for those who visit. Animators have felt the benefit and have discussed the idea of more such centres being established in other dioceses. Some Animators have approached their bishops to see if a similar centre could be set up in their own diocese.

Animator David Jackson has had his book ‘Realising the Sacred’ published this year, 2025, by Franciscan Publishing. In it he imagines a Church committed to synodality in its worship, buildings and mission. And he stresses the need for contemplative or mystical prayer to bring it about.

Animator Menchu collaborated with iMision to produce, in September 2025, a 32-page resource explaining and promoting Laudato Si’ and LSM, to give to their students and digital missionaries. iMision Institute is a Catholic, global community of digital missionaries and evangelizers which collaborates with the Holy See to address contemporary issues in the digital environment, to support nonprofit organizations and to promote the Church’s presence in society.

These are just a few examples of the actions taken, groups set up and initiatives created by Animators in the UK to encourage the spread of those roots planted by Pope Francis. Through these efforts, Animators are ensuring that the legacy of Pope Francis will never be forgotten and will continue to inspire future Animators to advocate for the natural environment.

V Bell (on behalf of LS Animators UK), November 2025