The Vatican has published the theme of Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the 2026 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which will be titled: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4), a prophetic expression that invites us to transform violence into paths of life, care, and hope.
As every year, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will be celebrated on September 1 and will mark the beginning of the Ecumenical Season of Creation, which will conclude on October 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology.
The Holy Father’s message focuses on the profound relationship between armed conflicts and environmental degradation, emphasizing that the destruction of creation constitutes not only a grave violation of humanity’s responsibility to care for our Common Home, but also a direct and prolonged threat to the lives of millions of people worldwide.
The choice of the text from the prophet Isaiah reflects an urgent call to transform the dynamics of war, destruction, and exploitation into processes oriented toward integral human development, socio-environmental justice, and sustainability. The biblical image of turning weapons into farming tools symbolizes a humanity capable of prioritizing dialogue, cooperation, and the care of life over violence.
Pope Leo XIV warns that, although there is today an increasingly widespread awareness of the links between wars and the struggle over natural resources, this understanding has not yet been sufficiently translated into responsible political decisions or into institutions capable of preventing conflicts and promoting peaceful and lasting solutions.
In this context, the message takes on special resonance for the Amazonian peoples and for the entire Church journeying in the Amazon. The region continues to face multiple threats related to extractive models, territorial violence, forced displacement, and environmental impacts that endanger the lives of communities and ecosystems.
From the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), this call from Pope Leo XIV renews the commitment to continue promoting an integral ecology that integrates the care of the peoples, territories, and Amazonian biodiversity, strengthening paths of peace, justice, and reconciliation.
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation continues to establish itself as a spiritual, pastoral, and prophetic space that unites Christian communities of different traditions around a shared commitment to care for our Common Home and defend life in the face of the multiple socio-environmental crises affecting the planet.