How Laudato Si’ changed my life

Irene D’Agostini is a Laudato Si’ Animator in Italy.

By Irene D’Agostini
Laudato Si’ Animator in Italy

Laudato Si’ has become so important to me. It changed my way of looking at the world because it showed me how much everything is connected and gave me a new hope for the future.

I wanted to be a Laudato Si’ Animator because, as a young citizen and Catholic, I consider the Laudato Si’ Circle experience a way of being the “change I want to see in the world.”

Before I enrolled in the Laudato Si’ Animators program in Italy, in my city we had already created a Laudato Si’ Circle.

So for Laudato Si’ Week in May, when hundreds of thousands of Catholics honored the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’, the goal was to make this new reality known to all of the community.

Choose a better tomorrow: Become a Laudato Si’ Animator

Irene D’Agostini’s Laudato Si’ Circle meets in Italy.

We organized a Laudato Si’ celebration, where we spoke to the community about the insights given to us by Pope Francis in his world-changing encyclical.

Since then, we have been organizing activities, celebrations, and reflections for the ongoing ecumenical Season of Creation.

In July, we also prepared a week of education about Laudato Si’ for high school boys and girls.

Inspire your community: Become a Laudato Si’ Animator

The Laudato Si’ Animator training was so important to me because it gave me a better knowledge of the encyclical, and it introduced me to a lot of other people who care for creation like me.

This worldwide movement makes me feel positive and gives me a lot of energy.

During the Season of Creation, my greatest hope is that we will celebrate the season not only between Catholics but also with our sisters and brothers of other religions.

Irene D’Agostini, far right, has helped bring Laudato Si’ to life in Italy.

That’s already happening throughout the world, and that gives me so much hope for our future.

We stand together in this mission and only together we can make the difference.

As Pope Francis wrote: “Self-improvement on the part of individuals will not by itself remedy the extremely complex situation facing our world today . . . Social problems must be addressed by community networks and not simply by the sum of individual good deeds . . . The ecological conversion needed to bring about lasting change is also a community conversion.” (LS 219)