Nuns collect trash following Pope Francis’ encyclical on environment in Philippines

A group of nuns in the Philippines began a community service of collecting trash in the spirit of Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.

"Laudato Si (Praise Be), On the Care of Our Common Home" was published in 2015.

"After the Sunday Mass on July 2, we began collecting trash along the road back to the convent," said Sister Sophia Oshita, SCG, community head, adding that "May our small activities bring us closer to our goal of ‘answering the cry of the earth.’"

She is a member of Suore della Carità di Gesù (SCG or Caritas Sisters of Jesus).

One Vietnamese and five Japanese nuns work at Caritas Don Bosco School in Binan, Laguna, a province just southeast of Manila, the country's capital.

"We have a plan to do something for the seven goals of Laudato Si every month. Collecting garbage, segregating it, and disposing of it properly is one of our activities," Sister Oshita said.

"As a congregation, we participate in the Laudato Si Platform. Each community tries to respond to the call of Pope Francis and do something for the common good, especially caring for the environment," she added.

The seven goals of Laudato Si are the Cry of the Earth, the Cry of the Poor, Ecological Economics, Simple Lifestyles, Ecological Education, Ecological Spirituality, and Community Involvement and Participation.

"We have been concerned about the garbage along the road. Nobody takes care of this garbage and the poop of dogs along the road; the real concern is traffic," she explained.

"Our apostolate is to run the school. We are so busy with our daily work. But on Sunday, we are only just returning from Sunday Mass, making it easy to start. We are hoping this small act makes people change their minds and create awareness of the environment," she added.

The nuns have decided to collect garbage in the vicinity because there is less traffic on Sunday.

The Salesian Italian priests of St. John Bosco—founder Father Antonio Cavoli, SDB, and co-founder Venerable Vincent Cimatti, SDB—founded the Caritas Sisters of Jesus congregation in 1937 in Miyazaki, Japan.

There are about 905 nuns who work in 15 countries, including Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

In the Philippines, the congregation has two houses with 12 nuns.