A contingent of Capuchin friars was preparing to join thousands of people in a mass march in New York City on Sept. 17 to advance the goals of the UN Climate Ambition Summit, whose purpose is to reduce the world’s use of fossil fuels. 

One of the friars who is doing everything he can to protect the earth is Fr. Benedict Ayodi. He is a founder of the Laudato Si’ Movement, a Catholic grassroots organization that promotes ecological conversion in the Church and the world through implementation of Pope Francis’ encyclical on care for creation, Laudato Si’.

Father Ben has been the Africa coordinator for the Laudato Si’ Movement, helping train thousands of animators and form over 20 chapters across the continent. With other climate activists, Father Ben and the Laudato Si’ Movement halted the construction of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline through Uganda and Tanzania. He is also an outreach officer at Franciscans International, an NGO representing the voice of all Franciscan religious orders at the United Nations, which enables him to directly challenge governments that do harm to the environment and threaten the livelihoods of their citizens.

“I grew up in Kenya, and I touched with my own hands the importance that the forest has in this land, with the wildlife around us, with the waterways, with the resources that can feed everyone without exploitation, only with intelligent ways,” Father Ben told Vatican News. “I think this is what pushed me to unite myself to the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi.”

Preventing catastrophic climate change is only one motivation for Father Ben. Another is inspiring Catholics to live the Gospel. “Through our movement, certainly we have rekindled the faith of many young Catholics who had drifted away from the Church and who have come back to believe and hope that they can be agents of change. We have achieved this effect, and that is what I love most. Being part of this movement is not a job, it is my spirituality,” Father Ben told Vatican News.

Read more about Father Ben’s work with the Laudato Si’ Movement.