Various celebrations are planned around the world to celebrate Laudato Si’ Week (May 16-24), the crowning event of the Special Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year. This week was called for by Pope Francis to celebrate the Fifth Anniversary of his encyclical on the environment. Various groups within the Order are also planning events. Write and let us know what your province, commissariat, or delegation or ministry site is doing to celebrate Laudato Si’ Week (May 16-24, 2021). The webpage dedicated to Laudato Si’ Week 2021 is (in English) https://laudatosiweek.org.

Here is just some of what is happening around the Order:

• The Indonesian Province will launch a vertical farming model in Karmel Syanti Argo (“syanti” means “peace,” “argo” means “mount”) in Pasuruan on Sunday, April 25. This location also functions as the Laudato Si’ Center. The purpose of this project is to teach pof urban people to produce vegetables in a limited space. Also by producing vegetables themselves, the carbon footprints will be reduced due to the decrease in the use of fuel to transport the vegetables from villages to cities. The oxygen produced in the photosynthesis process of the vegetables also helps maintain the quality of the air in the cities. More on the project can be found at: http://www.carmelitengo.id
   
• Salpointe Catholic High School, a secondary school of the PCM Province, held a teleconference entitled “What Kind of World Do We Want to Build Together” discussing implementation of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ in the Sonoran desert of Tucson where the school is located. Participants in the conference included Mayor Regina Romero of Tucson, the bishop of the Diocese of Tucson, Edward Weisenburger, Salpointe students, and representatives from the very active Environment Group at a local parish. The event closed with a video outlining projects students from Lourdes Catholic School in Nogales, Arizona are involved in. Both national Catholic press and local press outlets reported on the event. The full video of the teleconference can be viewed (in English) at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG7-P6RNxfw
   
• At The Friars in Aylesford, England, the community and visitors to the Carmelite shrine will pray for the planet during the normal prayer services and at the regularly scheduled Mass.