2025
May
NJPN Day
NJPN Day on Sustainability facilitated by Columbans and the NJPN Environment Group. Speakers on being in a Live Simply parish; Tackling Debt and the Climate Crisis in the Jubilee Year; Greening Church Investments: fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions; and looking at creation theology using Laudato Si, Laudato Deum and Al-Mizan.
April
Flourish@St Columban’s
Launch of Flourish@St Columban’s, a programme involving training teachers to lead eco retreats, a huge increase in the use of the ground’s of the Columban headquarters in Solihull.
2024
September
Rewilding event
Rewilding event at St Columban’s, Solihull, inspired by Laudato Si.
June
Restore Nature Now March
Columban group at ‘Restore Nature Now’ march, campaigning for political action on biodiversity.
April
Encounters
Encounters online between Catholic teachers and people from the Higaonon people of Mindanao
April
Columban Schools competition
The 2023-2024 Columban Schools Competition in Britain took the theme, ‘Biodiversity Matters’.
February
Livesimply Award
Celebration of 100 schools achieving CAFOD’s Livesimply Award – Columbans have helped assess and support the award.
2023
November
Seeds of Change
Launch of ‘Seeds of Change’, a solidarity programme between Catholic schools in Birmingham Archdiocese and a tree growing partnership with the Columbans in the Philippines and the Higaonon people of Mindanao.
October
Laudato Deum
Columbans advertise Laudato Deum – a follow up to Laudato Si, which warns that responses to Laudato Si have not been adequate.
March
Flame 2023
Columbans attend Flame 2023, as part of CYMFed, the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, which promotes youth ministry across England and Wales. We worked with other organisations to lead an activity for hundreds of young participants to discern which justice, peace and ecology issues they feel called to act upon.
2022
September
Creation Time
Media and Liturgy resources produced for Creation Time in September.
November
COP27
Lobbying COP27 on Climate and COP15 on Biodiversity
February
Creative thinking
COVID restrictions led to creative thinking: eco retreats for Catholic teachers in local country parks!
International Youth Encounters
Working with young Columbans around the world during COVID to put on a series of Columban International Youth Encounters, many of which were inspired by Laudato Si’
2021
November
COP26
James Trewby and Ellen Teague attended and lobbied COP26 on Climate in Glasgow at which Ellen released a daily blog.
November
24 hours for the climate
A live broadcast vigil from COP26 in Glasgow, linking young adults and people on the front line of the climate crises.
2020
Laudato Si’ Talks
On-going talks by Ellen include a Laudato Si’ Day with Religious Sisters in Birmingham on 4 April and a Christians Aware Interfaith Conference in West Yorkshire.
July
NJPN Conference
Columban JPIC supports the annual National Justice and Peace Conference with speakers, a stall and workshops. Conference on Laudato Si’ themes, especially the Climate Crisis. The JPIC team is actively involved with many networks, including the Climate Coalition and the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation.
2019
October
Extraordinary Missionary Month
During Pope Francis’s ‘Extraordinary Missionary Month’, we ran programmes with young adults and school groups exploring Laudato Si’
June
Climate Strikers
2019 onwards, supporting local groups of young climate strikers, including taking Catholic school groups and groups of young refugees and asylum seekers to join and organising an encounter between climate strikers and a conference of Catholic head teachers.
Climate Coalition
Columban JPIC part of the Climate Coalition and the Our Voices interfaith climate network, as well as Operation Noah, lobbys for a fair global climate deal and for Britain to do more to decarbonise its own economy. It also supports the London Mining Network, which offers solidarity to communities around the world who are badly affected by mining companies based in, or financed from, London.
2018
August
World Meeting of Families
James plus Jack (Faith in Action Volunteer), Jane (Columban JPIC volunteer) and Fr Liam O’Callaghan led activities on ‘Caring for our common home’ at the World Meeting of Families in Ireland.
February
Columban Schools competition
First year of the Columban Schools competition which has often taken ecology themes.
Laudato Si’ Talks
Ellen Teague gave zoom and face to face talks in many places, including Macclesfield, Tyneside and Hanwell Parish in West London.
Ecology Workshops
Columban JPE team asked to lead workshops, retreats and talks on ecology themes. Audiences have included school and university students, diocesan youth gatherings, retreats and training for teachers, justice and peace groups at parish, diocese and national level and groups of Religious. Some events were ecumenical and interfaith, such as the Christians Aware Conference.
2017
October
Divest from Fossil fuels
Columbans announced a pledge to divest from fossil fuels on 4 October
August
Eco retreats
James visited the Columbans in Ireland to take part in the ecology programme for teachers led by Ger Clarke. This led to the first eco retreats for Catholic school groups in the grounds of St Columban’s Solihull.
July
Inspirational school and conferences visits
Fr Peter Hughes, Columban involved in REPAM, a Catholic Church network that promotes the rights and dignity of people living in the Amazon. Inspirational school visits and speaking at conferences.
Resources produced
Stations of the Forest and resources for Lent and the Season of Creation produced.
Laudato Si’ Talks
Ellen spoke at ‘Laudato Si’ days around various dioceses in England and Wales. The encyclical continued to inspire and guide diocesan priorities. The Columban Laudato Si’ study programme was popular, and also Sean McDonagh’s new book on Laudato Si’ – ‘On Care for our Common Home’.
2016
October
Columban Day
Columban Day in Westminster Diocese where Columban JPE ran a workshop on ‘The inspiration of Laudato Si’, highlighting Columban action on environmental justice and a study programme based on the 2015 environment encyclical. And Ellen Teague was a speaker at a ‘Laudato Si ‘ Day in Birmingham Diocese and several other dioceses.
June
Online encounters
First facilitated online encounter between a group in Britain and Columban Fr Liam O’Callaghan in Pakistan, exploring themes such as mission, care for creation and Laudato Si’. Since then we have done 100+, and other Columbans, such as Marjorie Engcoy in the Philippines and Fr Kurt Zion Pala in Myanmar have also been featured.
Laudato Si’ INSET training
Since 2016, after a couple of ‘pilots’ in 2015, we have been offering Laudato Si’-themed INSET training from schools.
2015
November
Paris climate talks
Ellen Teague and Columban Charles Rue attended the Paris climate talks where a strong climate deal was made. They also attended one of the first meetings of the Global Catholic Climate Movement – later the Laudato Si Movement.
October
Liverpool Laudato Si’ Day with Columban missionaries.
Archbishop McMahon and around 140 people attended the ‘Faith and Creation’ day in Liverpool, organised by Columban missionaries and Liverpool Archdiocese Justice and Peace Commission. Paeticipants represented more than 30 parishes of the Liverpool Archdiocese, and some in Shrewsbury, Lancaster and Wrexham.
July
Celebrating Young People’s Awards
Columban JPIC supported the ‘Celebrating Young People’s Awards’, given at a ceremony in London by sponsoring the ‘Caring for the Environment’ Award (the Barbara Ward Award).
July
NJPN Conference
Columban JPIC ran workshops and stalls at the 2015 National Justice and Peace Conference 17-19 July, which had a strong focus on the environment.
June
Appearance on Radio 4 Today Programme
Ellen Teague interviewed by Mishal Husain about the international launch that day of the environment encyclical of Pope Francis – Laudato Si.
The JPIC office supported Laudato Si publicly and welcomed it in articles and radio interviews. Columbans supported the June ‘Pray and Fast with the Climate’ service in London and the lobby of parliament on climate.
Decade-long advocacy
Study Days
Throughout the decade Columbans have supported many study days on Laudato Si in Dioceses, parishes and schools. Good use has been made of ColumbansUK social media.
Vocation for Justice
Our 12-page Columban magazine produced three times a year – raises awareness of many campaigns, particularly the issues of Climate Crisis, Biodiversity loss, Migration and Laudato Si’. Sign up for your copy.
Climate Marches
Columbans have marched in the annual climate march in London to coincide with and show public support for the UN COP Climate Conferences.
This year, our team helped facilitate the National Justice and Peace Network Conference (NJPN) in July, chairing a conference session and running a workshop on Environment and Peace. In May, an NJPN Day at CAFOD’S London office on Sustainability, was facilitated by Columbans and the NJPN Environment Group. As well as environmental action, around 40 people looked at creation theology using ‘Laudato Si’, ‘Laudato Deum’ and the Muslim ‘Al-Mizan’ document.
At the same time, we launched Flourish@St Columban’s, a programme involving training teachers to lead eco retreats, and there was a huge increase in the use of the grounds of the Columban headquarters in Solihull for school visits focusing on ‘integral ecology’. Rewilding had been undertaken at St Columban’s since 2024.
The 2023-2024 Columban Schools Competition in Britain took the theme, ‘Biodiversity Matters’ and 29 schools in England sent in entries. It allowed them to realise that the Church helps young people to act on personal, local and national levels to build sustainable lifestyles which leave space for other species. Great inspiration was drawn from ‘Laudato Si’. We advertised ‘Laudate Deum’, which Pope Francis produced eight years after Laudato Si’ in 2023, to warn human society that insufficient action had been taken to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
And a ‘Seeds of Change’ programme was launched between Catholic schools in Birmingham Archdiocese and a tree growing partnership with the Columbans in the Philippines and the Higaonon people of Mindanao.
2021 was the year the UN’s annual international climate conference – COP26 – took place in Glasgow. James Trewby and Ellen Teague attended and lobbied COP26 – campaigning, educating and praying for Climate Justice. A part of this was Ellen producing a daily blog. James organised a live broadcast vigil from the Jesuit parish in Glasgow, linking young adults and people on the front line of the climate crises from around the world.
During the years before this, Columban JPE supported ‘Laudato Si’ days in dioceses and parishes throughout Britain and many zoom webinars and training events. The Columban ‘Laudato Si’ study programme was popular, and also Fr. Sean McDonagh’s new book on ‘Laudato Si’ – On Care for our Common Home’.
2017 was the year Columbans announced a pledge to disinvest from fossil fuels. Fr. Peter Hughes, an Irish Columban involved in REPAM, a Catholic Church network that promotes the rights and dignity of people living in the Amazon, visited Britain. His school visits and talks at events such as the annual NJPN conference were inspirational.
All this work was sparked by the first papal encyclical focusing on the environment, with issues discussed including climate change, biodiversity and water. ‘Laudato Si’s subtitle, ‘Care for Our Common Home’, raised broader questions of the relationship between God, humans, and the Earth. The term ‘integral ecology’ was introduced to explain the ethical and spiritual dimensions of how humans are meant to relate to each other and the natural world – drawing on culture, family, community, virtue, religion, and respect for the common good.
The day ‘Laudato Si’ was launched internationally in 2015, Ellen Teague spoke on Radio 4’s ‘Today’ Programme, stressing the links the Pope was highlighting between faith and ecology. The programme has around five million listeners daily. Afterwards, Liverpool Archdiocese was the first of several dioceses, with the help of Columban JPE, to organise a ‘Faith and Creation Day’ which was attended by more than 30 parish representatives. And later that year, Ellen attended the Paris climate talks with Australian Columban Charles Rue, and joined celebrations of The Paris Agreement – a legally binding global climate treaty that aimed to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, above pre-industrial levels. We have supported initiatives since then to have the Agreement fully implemented.
Over the last decade, Columban JPE has consistently linked ‘Laudato Si’ to the body of Catholic Social Teaching, bringing together social justice, peace and environmental issues.
In October 2025, Ellen is one of several Columban representatives attending an event celebrating the tenth anniversary of ‘Laudato Si’ at Castel Gandolfo near Rome. Pope Leo XIV will inaugurate the conference with an opening Mass of Creation. ‘Laudato Si’ continues to inspire people who are trying to transform the world in the direction of sustainability, justice and peace. The opening event will be livestreamed starting at 15.30 CEST on the 1st October. Register for the livestream here.
