To mark the celebration of 4 October, we had the opportunity to celebrate Creation Day as recommended by our Superior General, Sister Lucy Jacob, in her letter of 1 August 2025 (No. 73/SG/SLJP/2025).

Thus, to help us live in communion within the Congregation and strengthen our Cor unum anima una, you will find in this article the various celebrations, photos and videos of our different entities in our own gardens, farms, and other natural settings.

International Asian Novitiate (IAN), Philippines

Region Our Lady of Lavang, Vietnam

Sacred Heart International Community, Philippines

Region of Mali

During this Season of Creation, we experienced the greatness, beauty and power of God in the lives of His creatures. We recognised God’s love for his creation through plants, flowers, human life...
Everything God does is good. He is worthy of praise.

International Novitiate of Africa, Mali

Within our novitiate community, we celebrated Creation Day by honouring God as Creator and commemorating the great mystery of creation.

During our sharing after the meditation in nature, each of us came to recognize that creation is the fundamental mystery of our Christian faith. It was a moment of deep gratitude and praise to the Triune God, the Creator of the universe.

https://youtube.com/shorts/jFOOTpbFnuo?si=gnFh29Mg_dhjaikd

Province of Sri Lanka

The Season of Creation was joyfully marked in our Province from September 1st, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, until October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. This special period invited us to pause, reflect, and act in gratitude for the gift of our common home.

Throughout these weeks, many of our communities came together to celebrate Creation Day in meaningful ways. Sisters, children, parents, friends of Fr. Triest, and elders joined hands in a variety of activities: tree planting, cleaning common areas, cultivating flower gardens, organizing competitions for children, and conducting awareness programs on the importance of protecting nature.

These initiatives not only beautified our surroundings but also nurtured a spirit of responsibility among the young and old alike.
The celebrations culminated on October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, with a Solemn Thanksgiving Mass where the sisters of the Province gathered. It was also a joyful occasion of EGC Transmission, bringing together its participants in the spirit of gratitude and renewal. The Eucharist became a deeply moving moment to thank God for the gift of creation and to renew our commitment to safeguarding it for future generations.

The Season of Creation thus became a pilgrimage of faith, action, and gratitude — uniting our communities in prayer, awareness, and concrete action. With hearts filled with joy and hope, we continue our mission to care for our common home, walking together as pilgrims of hope and stewards of God’s precious gift.

Ranchi Province, India

How wonderful it would be if all our SCJM communities “Go Green” and each SCJM becomes a ‘Green Samaritan’ - giving a long loving look at the vulnerable, watching, listening, being with them, engaging, healing, and bending down in service!
We are pilgrims of hope, bequeathed in Love to love. Seeking God’s Grace to become agents of that love, all the communities of Ranchi Province had a special prayer service on 7th September, 2025. Praying with Creation and praying for creation, we are enthusiastic to adopt a Green lifestyle to ensure a ‘Green future’.

Province of Pakistan

Province of Saint Bernard, D.R. Congo

Creation Day celebrated in the community of Notre-Dame des Grâces (Our Lady of Graces), Gombe

In accordance with the recommendations of the General Government and the Church, which ask us to value and pray with creation, our community chose 7 September to have this experience of deep prayer with nature.
We chose to meditate and contemplate water, which is one of the most beautiful elements of creation.

So, on 7 September 2025, the whole community went to the banks of the Congo River, which is not too far from the community of Notre-Dame des Grâces, with a few musical instruments (tamtams, maracas). We spent an hour in personal meditation, followed by songs of praise for this wonder, before returning home.

Back home, we shared our experiences, enriching each other with what we had experienced during the prayer.
In summary, water gives life. It is often at the heart of communities, a place of gathering and exchange. Water nourishes people, animals and plants. It makes things flourish and gives strength.

In water, we found harmony and gentleness; every creature is drawn to it. Water purifies and gives new life. When we are near water, we feel connected to nature.
Let us, therefore, be those who give life, joy and peace to those around us. Let us nurture our relationship with nature so as not to harm it.

Mother Hostia Community (Novitiate and Postulancy), Kimpese

Our Formation Community welcomed the two circular letters from the General Government as an opportunity for animation and participation, in line with the Guidelines of the 2023 General Chapter and concretised in our Provincial Statutes.
Following the formation team’s reflection on the Superior General’s recommendations, a concrete action plan was formulated, with specific steps to be carried out before 7 September 2025.

1. Time for personal preparation through Bible reading: Genesis 1:1-2:4: the creation of the universe in six days.

2. Two animation groups were formed: one, led by Sr Scholastique, the community animator, was responsible for preparing the prayer corner; the other, guided by Sr Joséphine Nsimba, in charge of initiation into liturgical celebrations. Their goal was to design a prayer plan for the community celebration, drawing on their creativity and inspiration in line with the proposed theme.

3. The celebration led by the liturgy group
We gathered as a community for a time of prayer and thanksgiving. Each sister was invited to choose an object from nature that expressed her personal reason for praising God. After listening to the Word, we paused in contemplation before the prayer corner, then shared with one another the meaning of our chosen symbols.

Through this exchange, we discovered new insights and ways of seeing God’s presence in creation. From our faith-filled sharing, a hymn of praise rose from our hearts: God is strong, God is gratuitous love, God is our protector, our Father, and the source of our existence.

4. Suggestions for embodying the messages gleaned during the celebration
After the celebration, the novices took time for personal reflection, noting the invitations and insights they had received and how these could be put into practice in daily life.
We hope that this celebration will bear lasting fruit for the good of our planet Earth and for the harmony of our own living environment.

Sister Scholastique Meta and the Formation Team

Community "Notre-Dame du Magnificat", Kisantu

Delhi Province, India

Dutch-speaking Region

Vice-Province of Our Lady of Kibeho, Rwanda

In communion with Christians around the world, our Vice-Province celebrated the Season of Creation from 1 September to 4 October. Guided by the creativity and initiative of each community, we dedicated special times of prayer and reflection to celebrate life and to contemplate God’s love revealed through creation.

For us, this precious time became a deep expression of gratitude to God, the source of all life, and an opportunity to meditate on the beauty of nature where every detail speaks of God’s tender love. It was also a moment of awareness, reminding us that the earth is a gift to be shared. We reflected on the wound’s humanity has inflicted upon our planet through pollution, climate change, and the loss of species within the ecosystem.

Moved by this awareness, we felt a renewed call to love, protect, and care for creation with reverence and responsibility. In our prayer, we asked the Lord to grant us the grace to be faithful stewards of His creation, guardians who nurture the earth with love and respect.

We continue to marvel at God’s love, so beautifully manifested in the earth that sustains and nourishes us. This celebration of Creation Day remains for us a lasting song of praise to God, the Creator of all that exists.