Laudato Si' Fellows to be Honored

On March 31, the University of San Diego through the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture will honor 21 faculty, staff and community members as Laudato Si Fellows to recognize the good work they are doing in the care for our common home. 

All of our honorees participated in a series of presentations and discussions about each chapter of Laudato Si' during last spring’s “Cry of the Earth, Cry of the Poor” lecture series celebrating the 5-year anniversary of Laudato Si'. 

These fellows will continue to form a community of committed scholars dedicated to supporting USD's Care for Our Common Home Strategic pathway, working to help us prepare for, adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change and to make the dangers of environmental degradation and the effect on disadvantaged communities known to the academic and general communities.

Laudato Si' is the name of Pope Francis’ important encyclical on climate change which focuses on "care for our common home." It is a letter to the world telling us we must work together to deal with the impacts of climate change across the world and especially for disadvantaged communities.  

In fall 2021, the University of San Diego was named a Laudato Si University by the Vatican with a 7-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges. 

A reception will be held in their honor on Thursday, March 31 at 5 p.m. at the plaza in front of the Ministry Center next to Founders Chapel. Dr. Mitchell Thomashow, noted environmentalist, and author of the stimulating study, To Know the World: A New Vision of Environmental Learning, will address the fellows.

Pope Francis’s encyclical is available online.

The videos from the 7-part series are available on the Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture Youtube channel.

— Jeffery Burns, PhD