On 4 October 2023, on the occasion of the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology, Pope Francis published Laudato Deum, the Apostolic Exhortation that follows the historic Encyclical Laudato Si’ in 2015. With the new exhortation, Pope Francis has once again raised his prophetic voice for the care of our Common Home and of each other, especially the most vulnerable. As the Pope points out, "our responses have not been adequate" and "the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point" (LD, 2). However, Pope Francis recalled that "What is being asked of us is nothing other than a certain responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind, once we pass from this world" (LD, 18).

The unprecedented challenge that the planet and people face can only be tackled from the perspective of an integral ecological vision that Pope Francis offered in Laudato Si'. The reconstruction of the Common Home and the common human and biotic family requires an alliance between all people and all segments of society.

It is in the spirit of this prophetic mission that the Roman Pontifical Universities and Atheneums came together immediately after the publication of Laudato Si' to launch a Joint Diploma in Integral Ecology. "On the seventh anniversary of this collective and fruitful effort" they write from the Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) in Rome, "we are pleased to announce the launch of the English edition of this initiative that will be offered online, in collaboration with numerous important groups engaged in the area of care for creation."

The Integral Ecology Course, entitled "Course on Integral Ecology: from Laudato Si' to Laudate Deum", will consist of six modules of 90 minutes each that will be held from January to June 2024 (every third Thursday of the month from 1.30 pm to 3.00 pm CEST/GMT+1), together with an international online conference on Laudate Deum that will be organised in May 2024.

Participants will be enrolled at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (course secretariat) with access to online services such as the digital library, educational material... The entry fee was intentionally kept low to facilitate broad participation, with a view to creating a mass movement of people from below to care for our Common Home and each other.

Registrations, already open in December, will still be possible until 31 March. At the end of the course, students who wish to do so will be able to receive a certificate and will also be able to officially become "Laudato Si' Animators", thanks to the "Laudato Si' Movement".

The Course will be run by an international community of qualified scholars, leaders and activists in the field of care for creation, from Rome's Pontifical Universities and Atheneums and from around the world. Among them, in the Salesian context, we can mention Fr Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam, SDB, Head of the Office for Ecology and Creation of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Emanuela Chiang, in charge of Integral Ecology in the Salesian Youth Ministry Sector; and Antonio Molavin, of the "Don Bosco Green Alliance",

For more information, you can visit the UPS website, while for online registration, the form is available at the following page: http://immatricolazioni.unigre.it 

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