The patron saint of nature, ecology and the environment is St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), who called the sun his brother and the moon his sister, preached to the birds, and whom Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed the heavenly patron of those who care for the environment in 1979. Many Catholics also honor St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the Mohawk saint who loved the woods and rivers, as a patroness of ecology. For the ocean and the waters there are Our Lady, Star of the Sea, St. Brendan the Navigator and St. John Nepomucene. St. Francis’s feast day is October 4. Below are these saints, St. Francis’s Canticle of the Sun, Scripture on creation and prayers for the care of creation.
A short prayer for creation, written for this page:
St. Francis, you praised God for brother sun, sister moon and sister water.
Teach me to see God’s hand in every living thing,
to care for the earth He has given us, and to share its gifts with the poor. Amen.
St. Francis of Assisi, patron of ecology
Francis gave up his wealth to live in poverty, and the joy of his life with God overflowed into love for every creature. He called animals, plants and even fire and death his brothers and sisters, preached to the birds, and asked that the friars leave a corner of the garden wild so that flowers could grow for the glory of God. On November 29, 1979, Pope John Paul II proclaimed him the patron of those who promote ecology. Pope Francis took the first words of his encyclical on care for our common home, Laudato Si’ (2015), from the saint’s song of praise. See the Feast of St. Francis and the patron saint of animals.
The Canticle of the Sun
Francis composed this song of praise near the end of his life, when he was nearly blind and ill:
O most high, almighty, good Lord God, to thee belong praise, glory, honor, and all blessing! To thee alone, Most High, do they belong, and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce thy Name.
Praised be my Lord God with all his creatures, and specially our brother the sun, who brings us the day and who brings us the light; fair is he and shines with a very great splendor: O Lord, he signifies to us thee!
Praised be my Lord for our sister the moon, and for the stars, the which he has set clear and lovely in heaven.
Praised be my Lord for our brother the wind, and for air and cloud, calms and all weather by the which thou upholdest life in all creatures.
Praised be my Lord for our sister water, who is very serviceable unto us and humble and precious and clean.
Praised be my Lord for our brother fire, through whom thou givest us light in the darkness; and he is bright and pleasant and very mighty and strong.
Praised be my Lord for our mother the earth, the which doth sustain us and keep us, and bringeth forth divers fruits and flowers of many colors, and grass.
Praised be my Lord for all those who pardon one another for his love’s sake, and who endure weakness and tribulation; blessed are they who peaceably shall endure, for thou, O most Highest, shalt give them a crown.
Praised be my Lord for our sister, the death of the body, from which no man escapeth. Woe to him who dieth in mortal sin! Blessed are they who are found walking by thy most holy will, for the second death shall have no power to do them harm.
Praise ye and bless the Lord, and give thanks unto him and serve him with great humility.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha (July 14)
Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680), the daughter of a Mohawk father and an Algonquin Christian mother, loved to pray in the forest and set up crosses in the woods as places of prayer. The first Native American saint, canonized in 2012, she is honored with St. Francis as a patroness of ecology and the environment. See the St. Kateri Tekakwitha prayer.
Saints of the ocean and the waters
- Our Lady, Star of the Sea (Stella Maris), the ancient title of Mary as the guiding star of sailors. The Church’s ministry to seafarers bears her name.
- St. Brendan the Navigator (about 484–577), the Irish abbot whose legendary voyage across the Atlantic made him the patron of sailors and travelers by sea. His feast is May 16.
- St. Nicholas, patron of sailors, who according to legend calmed a storm at sea. See the St. Nicholas prayer.
- St. John Nepomucene, the priest of Prague who was thrown from the city’s stone bridge, now the Charles Bridge, into the river in 1393, invoked against floods and drowning and honored as patron of bridges.
Scripture on creation
God gave the earth into our care (Genesis 2:15, Douay-Rheims):
And the Lord God took man, and put him into the paradise of pleasure, to dress it, and to keep it.
All creation shows the wisdom of God (Psalm 103:24, Douay-Rheims; Psalm 104 in other numberings):
How great are thy works, O Lord? thou hast made all things in wisdom: the earth is filled with thy riches.
Prayers for creation
Written for this page.
For the care of creation
Lord, you made the earth good and gave it to us to keep.
Forgive our waste and carelessness. Help us to live simply,
to protect the air, the water and the land, and to remember the poor who suffer most when creation is harmed. Amen.
Before a walk in nature
Lord, open my eyes to your beauty in the trees, the sky and the water.
Let this time outdoors quiet my heart and turn it to praise. Amen.
For gardeners and farmers
St. Francis, bless those who grow our food and tend our gardens.
Send good rain and sun, and let their work bear fruit for all. Amen.
See also the St. Fiacre prayer for gardeners and the St. Isidore the Farmer prayer.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the patron saint of nature and the environment?
St. Francis of Assisi, proclaimed patron of ecology by Pope John Paul II in 1979. St. Kateri Tekakwitha is also honored as a patroness of the environment.
Who is the patron saint of the ocean?
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, together with St. Brendan the Navigator and St. Nicholas, patrons of sailors.
Who is the patron saint of water?
St. John Nepomucene is invoked against floods and drowning. St. Francis praised God for “sister water.”
More patron saints
- Patron saint of beekeepers
- Feast of St. Francis
- Patron saint of animals
- Prayer of St. Francis
- Patron saint of the weather
- Psalm 148
- Unusual patron saints
Texts and sources
- The Canticle of the Sun, from Paul Sabatier, Life of St. Francis of Assisi, trans. Louise Seymour Houghton (1894), public domain (Project Gutenberg).
- Genesis 2:15 and Psalm 103:24 (Douay-Rheims).