This week, Villanova’s Mission and Ministry held an event in which a symbolic tree was planted between St. Rita’s Hall and Alumni Hall. This event was one of many that are hosted at Villanova during the Season of Creation.
The Season of Creation begins on Sept, 1, which is known as World Day of Prayer for the Care and Creation, and ends on Oct. 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, who was known as “the patron saint of ecology.”
Father John Lydon, who organized the event and gave the welcoming words, provided plenty of information and insight about its significance.
“The tree was planted as a tall oak, since in many cultures, the tree is seen as a link between Heaven and Earth,” Father Lydon said. “In the Catholic tradition, creation, represented by the tree, is God’s gift to humanity to be cared for and sustained. The planted tree is a symbol of that commitment.”
Father Lydon also described in detail the historical significance of the Season of Creation.
“Pope Francis, in 2015, published the seminal document on care of our common home called Laudato Si,” he said. “With that began what he has termed the Season of Creation. It is a five-week span meant to raise our consciousness to greater care for Creation.”
The Season of Creation is so important because showing care for the common home is showing care for God’s creation. The Laudato Si Movement states that the Season of Creation is “a celebration that allows all people to recognize ourselves as ‘the work of the Lord’s creative act,’ to contemplate nature and all that dwells in it and to care for our Common Home.”
Each year’s Season of Creation has a different theme attached to it, suggested by the Ecumenical Steering Committee. For example, 2019’s theme was “Web of Life” and in 2020, it was “Jubilee for the Earth.” The theme for 2024 is “To Hope and Act with Creation.”
Villanova’s Mission and Ministry is strongly committed to the Season of Creation and its cultural significance, as shown by events such as this one. Another goal of Mission and Ministry is to cater its events to Villanova staff.
The office for Mission and Ministry recently began programs for outreach to the university staff,” Father Lydon said. “It has ongoing programs for faculty and students, but now wanted to reach out specifically to staff, as well. This event today was therefore planned to bring together all the various areas of University staff, including the maintenance department, the grounds staff, the public safety staff, the advancement and financial sector staff, dining services, Connelly Center, Mullen theater and many other areas. In this way, representatives of all the areas joined in this staff gather of care for creation.”
Father Lydon also gave a brief description of the event.
“We began with prayer [(led by Father John Abubakar, Villanova’s Chief Sustainability Officer)] knowing that it will be God’s grace that sustains us in the long term goal of ecological conversion, and then the action of planting a tree for the symbolic gesture of doing a good act for the environment,” he said. “We decided to have the event repeated also on South Campus, because of the number of students living there.”
