As this new year dawns, I find myself thinking of the countless people and communities whom I have met over the 53 years of priestly ministry—families rebuilding after disaster, migrants searching for a place to be be welcomed, children fighting for health or other basic needs yet still resilient with their God-given human dignity, parish groups planting gardens of hearty vegetables with needy members of the community in soil that once was ignored as barren.
In each encounter, I discovered the same quiet truth: renewal begins when ordinary people choose to hope and be active together.
That same spirit fills the Laudato Si’ Action Platform today.
Last year, we witnessed remarkable enthusiasm and a widening embrace of ecological conversion. But now we enter a different kind of season—one that invites depth, steadiness, and credible witness. This year, our shared task is to move from good intentions to verified and lived reality: parishes, dioceses, religious congregations, and institutions strengthening their commitments through implementation and certification. This is the work of roots taking hold.
To accompany you, the Platform itself is growing more responsive:
- clearer navigation and simpler tools shaped by your feedback
- automated reminders and certificates that ease your planning
- and gatherings—webinars and workshops—designed especially for those leading efforts in their dioceses and communities.
But beyond all structures and strategies, I want to offer you an invitation—not from an office, but from the heart of our shared mission.
As you begin 2026, consider pausing with a few questions:
- Where have I already seen signs of ecological conversion—in myself, my community, or creation around me?
- Which small but courageous steps can I commit to making real this year?
- Whose cry—of the earth and of the poor—am I being invited to hear more deeply?
- How could my own story help encourage others on this journey?
These questions are not tasks. They are doorways and pathways. They help us remember that this Platform is not a project—it is a pilgrimage of the whole Church, a way of walking together toward healing.
If you’re unsure of where to begin in 2026, remember that you are not alone on this journey. In your dashboard, you’ll find simple templates to help you create a plan or begin a community reflection if you haven’t done so yet.
Sometimes a small, humble first step is all the Spirit needs to open new possibilities.
Thank you for the witness you already offer. Thank you for showing, in big ways and small, that resilience is born of solidarity, and that hope becomes strongest when shared.
May the God who makes all things new renew your courage, sharpen your compassion, and bless every step you take in 2026.
Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo
Focal Point, Laudato Si’ Action Platform
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development