The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Johannesburg has planted 100 trees to mark the start of the Season of Creation observed annually in the Catholic calendar from September 1 to October 4.

In a message shared with the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) communication office Archbishop Buti Joseph Tlhagale said the Season of Creation is a call to make the environment look “green and clean.”

The member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) congregation called on the people of God in the archdiocese to look after the environment by planting more trees. His appeal was especially to those living in informal settlements (Townships) as most people cut trees for “wood.”

“We should be able to do that in every household. That’s our aim to try and get people interested in changing their environment,” he said and noted how one “can see” the “difference between the Northern suburbs and the townships.”

He added, “In the northern suburbs, there are trees and flowers everywhere, but that’s not the case in the Townships. For a long time, people (have been) cutting wood to use as firewood.”

“We would like to reverse that process” he continued urging “people (to) take care of the environment, to keep it clean, and make their own environment in the Townships and in informal settlements look green and beautiful.”

The Archdiocese of Johannesburg Justice and Peace Commission in collaboration with the youth department planted 100 trees at Mother of Mercy Marian Shrine in Magaliesburg on Saturday, August 31 to mark the start of the season of creation.

Instituted by Pope Francis in 2015, the Season of Creation is observed annually from the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, up to the feast of St. Francis of Assisi the patron saint of ecology.

Over 300 young people and Justice and Peace members joined hands in making the Marian Shrine green. In the message, Archbishop Tlhagale OMI said the initiative is meant to inspire the people of God in the Archdiocese to plant trees in “their own parishes and homes” and to keep the “environment clean.”

Meanwhile, the SACBC Department for Christian Formation, Liturgy, and Culture has put together reflections for the people of God in the three SACBC member states, namely, Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa.

The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation ‘marks the beginning of an
ecumenical outreach bringing Christians to pray and work together in what is called the Season of Creation. The origins of the day also go back to Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios who proclaimed September 1 as Creation Day for the Orthodox in 1989, followed by other Christian European Churches in 2001, and by Pope Francis in 2015’.