Canticle of Creation Art Display at Cathedral during Season of Creation

This year is the 800th anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of Creation prayer.

September 1 through Oct. 4 is the Season of Creation as designated by the World Council of Churches and embraced by the Catholic Church in 2015 by Pope Francis. September 1, the World Day of Prayer for Creation, begins the season, and the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology, on Oct. 4, ends it. Since 2025 is both a Jubilee Year of Hope and the 800th anniversary of St. Francis writing the Canticle of Creation, Laudato Si’ St. Augustine, the Creation Care Ministry of the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine, decided to mark this year with a special month-long exhibit of original paintings done by Elyse Brady, one of Laudato Si’ St. Augustine members.

The paintings are displayed on the walls of the east and west transepts of the Cathedral-Basilica. Laudato Si’ St. Augustine worked with Father Jeff Johnston of the Cathedral-Basilica in planning the special Season of Creation artwork location.

Why is there a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on September 1st? There was an ancient practice of observing Sept. 1st as the Day of Creation in Orthodox Christianity, marking the day in which God began the creation of the universe as described in Genesis, “Let there be light.” Building on that rich tradition and reading the signs of the times of the ecological crisis, in 1989 the Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios expanded the day’s symbolism to also be a day of prayer for creation in the Orthodox Church.

The theme for the Season of Creation is “Peace with Creation,” alluding to Isaiah 32:14-18. The metaphor of the seed indicates the need for long-term commitment, while expressing hope that the seeds of peace and hope may emerge across all the world. In his message for the 10th World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Leo XIV said the following: “In proclaiming the Kingdom of God, Jesus often used the image of the seed. As the time of his Passion drew near, he applied that image to himself, comparing himself to the grain of wheat that must die in order to bear fruit. Seeds are buried in the earth, and there, to our wonder, life springs up, even in the most unexpected places, pointing to the promise of new beginnings…In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, seeds of peace and hope. The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Spirit of God can make a dried and parched desert into a garden, a place of rest and serenity. By working with love and perseverance, we can sow many seeds of justice and thus contribute to the growth of peace and the renewal of hope.”

There are a total of 11 paintings in the display, five on one transept, six on the other. Each has an explanation of the part of the Canticle to which it refers. There is also the entire Canticle of Creation written out for visitors. The Canticle was written by St. Francis near the end of his life.