EarthBeat Weekly: Across the US, hundreds of pilgrimages of hope for creation

Across the US, hundreds of pilgrimages of hope for creation   EarthBeat Weekly Your weekly newsletter about faith and climate change October 24, 2025   The Yellowstone River Lower Falls is pictured in a file photo at sunrise in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park. (OSV News/Reuters/Lucy Nicholson) In May, more than 70 Catholics in San Antonio ventured out on a 9-mile journey that began at the Woodlawn neighborhood's Little Flower Basilica and concluded downtown at the San Fernando Cathedral. Three months later, approximately 450 Catholic sisters set out through the streets of downtown Atlanta on their own "Outdoor Pilgrimage of Hope." The event, part of the annual meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, processed along a 1.2 mile route filled with prayer, readings and music — punctuated by periods of silence — as well as pauses at locations dedicated to the issues of forced migration, climate change and racism. And in November, the Diocese of San Diego Creation Care Ministry — in partnership with the Diocese of San Bernardino, California — will head to the desert, perhaps like prophets and hermits of old, for a pilgrimage highlighting the gift of the desert, the environmental challenges of the Salton Sea area, and the poverty and ecological injustice that has long plagued California's Imperial Valley. Each of the local treks are among more than 230 "Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation" that have taken place in more than 35 states and collectively covered upwards of 20,000 miles, as Kimberly Heatherington reported for OSV News. The spiritual expeditions were planned by 22 U.S. Catholic groups to celebrate three occasions: the worldwide Jubilee 2025; the 10th anniversary of the 2015 release of Pope Francis' landmark environmental encyclical "Laudato Si'"; and the annual ecumenical Season of Creation (Sept. 1-Oct. 4). The "Pilgrims of Hope for Creation" initiative — a name echoing the Jubilee year slogan of "Pilgrims of Hope" — has sought to make the Catholic community more aware of creation care by encouraging them to plan local pilgrimages to places of environmental beauty or ecological devastation. Organizers called the ventures into local communities "sacred opportunities to pray for the grace to encounter Christ in Creation and renew our relationships with God, the Earth, and one another." "What we really wanted to do is get people to start thinking about both the beauty of the planet, and our human destruction of the planet — to begin to just appreciate both what we have, and what we may lose," said Dan Misleh, founder and executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant, one of the organizers. "In this way, we can build a little bit more momentum in the United States to implement — or at least pay attention to — Laudato Si', and the challenges that it presents to us," Misleh said.  Read more: More than 230 pilgrimages across the US mark 10 years of Laudato Si'   What else is new on EarthBeat:   Pope, British king share historic prayer in Sistine Chapel by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service Pope Leo XIV welcomed Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the Vatican for a unique visit combining ceremonial flourishes and a historic moment of prayer in the Sistine Chapel. Read more here »   Catholic nuns combat psychological toll of climate change on rural Kenyan communities by Gitonga Njeru  Global Sisters Report: The sisters' work had always been about care. But the climate crisis demanded a new approach. They were not just feeding bodies; they were nourishing souls.  Read more here »   Sisters help survivors of Nigeria's farmer-herder conflict reclaim spiritual lives by John Chukwu Global Sisters Report: In camps in Benue State, Sr. Mary Ojonugwa Unwuchola and other Nigerian sisters console displaced survivors grieving lost loved ones and lost homes. She does not offer easy answers, but presence, prayer and acts of care. Read more here »   Listen to the cries of the marginalized and the earth to transform the system by Ana María Siufi, Translated by Sr. Mary Rose Kocab, OVISS Global Sisters Report: Sr. Ana María Siufi, drawing on her pastoral experience in prisons, denounces a mindset that dehumanizes young people and the poor. Read more here » What's happening in other climate news:   'Leaving the world's poorest behind': Nearly 900 million poor people face climate shocks, says UN —Craig Saueurs for Euronews Trump opens pristine Alaska wilderness to drilling in long-running feud —Maxine Joselow for The New York Times From Mexico to Ireland, fury mounts over a global A.I. frenzy —Paul Mozur, Adam Satariano and Emiliano Rodríguez Mega for The New York Times America's biggest offshore wind farm will be online in six months —Clare Fieseler for Canary Media Gulf South residents and green groups sue Trump and EPA over toxic air pollution exemptions —Keerti Gopal for Inside Climate News California lawsuit says makers of plastic bags lied about products being recyclable —Sophie Austin for the Associated Press Banking alliance aimed at limiting fossil fuel investments collapses —Bobby Bascomb for Mongabay Final Beat: If you like what you read here, and value news that examines the intersection of faith and environment, support our reporting by becoming a NCR Forward member. Members get first access to special events, updates from our publisher and newsroom, and opportunities to give feedback through surveys and polls. You can also forward this newsletter to a friend and ask them to subscribe. Until next week, thanks for reading EarthBeat.   Brian Roewe Environment Correspondent National Catholic Reporter broewe@ncronline.org     Featured Advertisers   Looking to Hire? Offering Retreats? Selling Books? Place an Ad in NCR's Online Classified Section for Only $75 per Month!   Advertisement