Earth Day - By Agnes Richard

Blessing of the Waters officiated by Archbishop Marcel Damphousse, April 19, 2026

On the third Sunday of Easter, Archbishop Marcel Damphousse officiated a bilingual mass in the small rural church, Precious Blood parish just east of Cornwall, Ontario. On a cold wet day, 120 people participated in mass and outdoor ceremony to honour creation ahead of Earth Day.

The printed program provided context for the event. Care for Creation Ministry staff for the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall, Mireille Church, wrote:

In October 2025, Rome was the setting for a powerful and symbolic moment. At the Raising Hope for Climate Justice Conference, Pope Leo XIV blessed waters gathered from around the world.

Representatives from countries suffering from a lack of safe drinking water each contributed a few drops to what was called a “Bowl of Tears.” This water was then joined with water from a 20,000-year-old piece of melting glacier from Greenland, symbolizing how the care – or neglect – of our planet affects all of God’s gifts in our common home.

Seated behind the slowly melting piece of glacial ice, the Pope reflected “God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world that he created, for the benefit of all and for future generations, and if we have taken care of our brothers and sisters.”

The Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall’s representative for Care for Creation received a portion of this blessed water and it is central to our ceremony today.

The prayers of the faithful, read by young people, also reflected the themes of water and care for creation, including:

• Let us pray that we adopt respectful behaviours so that the water, this course of life, remains always available for everyone, today and tomorrow.

• Let us pray for the young people, called to the fullness of life, so that they may always be open and ready to answer the call of the Lord who invites them to take care of creation, our common home.

• Let us pray for our communities that they may remain strong in their mission to announce the Kingdom and be signs of the Resurrection in the image of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

Mohawk leader Dr. Rose-Alma Mcdonald led the outdoor ceremony with traditional thanksgiving prayers to the four directions and to Mother Earth. Her concluding prayer echoes those spoken in the mass.

Creator, giver of life, bring us to new birth in water and the spirit. Teach us the ways of peace and forgiveness. Help us to respect the differences we see in one another and learn to appreciate them. As we become healers in our relationship may we come to wholeness and holiness. To all of Creation, we give thanks. Amen

Agnes Richard, Canadian Chapter Animator for Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement – Canada (MLSM Canada) offered this prayer before processing down to the riverbank:

Holy Spirit, symbolized for us in this blessed water, nurture our sense of connectivity to all life. Remind us to be grateful for all that God’s Creation provides for us. Increase our awareness that we are a small segment of a vibrant and living Earth community that requires our dedicated attention for healing. Motivate us to bring our talents to the challenges of ensuring a healthy and thriving planetary home for many, many generations to come. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

Fr. Hasina Rakotoarisoa, pastor of Precious Blood parish, trained and accepted by Indigenous spiritual leaders, conducted a smudging for each person in attendance.

Procession to the river

Passing the blessed water

Then a line of 20 women, each long-time advocates for ecology from within the Christian community, passed the water from hand to hand to the shore of the St. Lawrence. As teen Advisor to MLSM Canada, and recipient of the John Dorner Laudato Si' Award, Valeria Clavijo, poured the blessed waters into the river Archbishop Marcel Damphousse prayed for the health of the river, and those who care for it.

At the following indoor reception many expressed happiness and gratitude for a beautiful event that combined Catholic liturgy and Indigenous prayers and ceremony centered on water and creation. 

This celebration is particularly timely following the release of the Manifesto of the churches of the global south for our common home, and the support document from the Laudato Si’ Movement, A catholic Theological Reflection on the Proposal for a Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, which can be downloaded from this link.

Agnes Richard

Canada Chapter Animator / Animatrice de la section Canadienne

MOUVEMENT LAUDATO SI' MOVEMENT Canada

April 24, 2026