Courtney Wight ’26

by Courtney Wight ’26 on November 6, 2025

During his life, Pope Francis was a staunch activist for the environment. Parts of his work as Pope upheld the principles of his encyclical Laudato Si’, leading him to create a program for Catholic educational institutes to pledge and join the efforts to improve sustainability on campuses. Father Kenneth Sicard, O.P. ’78, ’82G, signed onto the Catholic Climate Declaration and ultimately the Laudato Si’ program in 2018, which led to the creation of the President’s Sustainability Committee and the beginning of implementing sustainable policies and initiatives across campus.

The Laudato Si’ Action Plan consists of seven core ideals, including response to the cry of the Earth; response to the cry of the poor; ecological economics; adoption of sustainable lifestyle; ecological education; ecological spirituality; and community engagement and participatory action. These main categories all strive toward the goal of creating a more sustainable campus through the lens of Catholic teachings. Using Catholic thought, the program emphasizes the need to defend all life on Earth and use the college’s platform as an educational institute to shape the lives of the students, creating a positive impact on campus and within the local community.

PC already has sustainability initiatives that fall into these seven categories, but the purpose of the action plan is to identify where the College can do more. So far, efforts to improve sustainability on campus include bioswales, recycling initiatives, food recovery, and paying for students’ use of public transportation buses. These are just a few of the efforts on campus to create a more sustainable future. While the current initiatives are beneficial and have an impact on campus, under the Laudato Si’ Action Plan, PC would be required to do more for sustainability.

The program acknowledges that change won’t happen overnight. The Laudato Si’ Action Plan enacts change over a seven-year period as the College annually reflects and evaluates the ongoing changes in an effort to modify and adapt to arising issues.

Finally, this Action Plan can’t be formed solely by faculty and staff voices. Student opinions and suggestions are needed to create the best possible plan for our college going forward. Therefore, if you have ideas for any initiatives PC should create, or if you are in classes that discuss Laudato Si’ and sustainability, email me at cwight@friars.providence.edu or DM ECOPC’s Instagram (@pcgogreen) with your name, class year, and suggestion. Suggestions can range from offering more classes relating to sustainability to larger goals like having a sustainability retreat through Campus Ministry or EV charging stations on campus. If you are interested in Laudato Si’s efforts, join ECOPC as the College’s environmental club spends time at every meeting talking about efforts on campus and how college students can do their part to live a more sustainable lifestyle.