By G. Clare Westwood, Regional Director, ECCJ-MSB
The Episcopal Commission for Creation Justice of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei (ECCJ-MSB) launched Year Two of its REGENERATE! Campaign along with the Season of Creation 2026 with a special Eucharistic celebration at the Church of St Alphonsus in Singapore on the morning of Sunday, Aug 30 2026.
The Mass was celebrated by Cardinal William Goh of the Archdiocese of Singapore and Bishop Joseph Hii, President of the ECCJ-MSB and Bishop of Sibu. Delegates from the Creation Justice Commissions (CJCs) of the 11 dioceses in MSB joyfully carried their diocesan CJC banners in a reverent procession as they entered the beautiful Novena Church.
This is the second year of the REGENERATE! Campaign and the theme is “Regenerate Hope for Land Ecosystems.” Land ecosystems include natural terrestrial ecosystems like forests, grasslands, deserts, peatlands and wetlands as well as urban and rural settlement areas.
REGENERATE! is the second phase of the ECCJ’s Protect Our Earth, Protect Our Children (PROTEC) Campaign which ran from Sep 1 2020 to Aug 31 2025. REGENERATE! (PROTEC 2.0) runs from Sep 1 2025 to Aug 31 2030 with a different theme each year. While PROTEC 1.0 was promoted only in Malaysian dioceses, REGENERATE! (PROTEC 2.0) has been approved for all dioceses in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei by the Catholic Bishops Conference of MSB.
Meanwhile, the theme for the Season of Creation 2026 (Sep 1 to Oct 4 annually) is “Living Water” based on Ezekial 47:1-12. The Season of Creation is celebrated by over two billion Christians across different denominations worldwide. The season starts with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation on Sep 1 which was instituted by Pope Francis in 2015.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei this year issued a Pastoral Statement recommending celebrating the Mass for the Care of Creation, using the formulary from the Dicastery for Divine Workship and Discipline of the Sacraments, as a Votive Mass on Sep 1, if it is a weekday, or on any other weekday.
In his homily, Cardinal Goh stressed the importance of Integral Ecology, a concept which Pope Francis elucidated in his encyclical Laudato si’. The cardinal reminded everyone of their duty as stewards of creation and to put this responsibility over the lure of convenience and self-interest.
Bishop Joseph Hii addressed the congregation at the end of the Mass and explained the themes for the REGENERATE! Campaign Year Two and the Season of Creation 2026. In particular, Bishop Hii emphasized the importance of regenerating hope for creation which includes people and other creatures in nature. He said that we needed to move from being “ego” (centred) to being “eco” (ecologically centred) and that regeneration or being renewed was a fundamental aspect of our Catholic faith.
The mass ended with both Cardinal Goh and Bishop Hii unfurling the REGENERATE! Year Two and Season of Creation 2026 banners, thereby officially launching both campaigns. The Launch Mass coincided with the ECCJ-MSB’s General Meeting which lasted from Aug 28-30 and was attended by about 30 delegates from the different dioceses of MSB.
The meeting was held at the St Francis Xavier Retreat Centre (where Pope Francis had stayed during his visit to Singapore in 2024). In the afternoon of Aug 30, four expert resource persons from Singapore spoke on different aspects of regenerating land ecosystems as well as the spirituality of justice for creation. They were: Assoc Prof Janice Lee, Prof Adrian Loo, and Michael Leong; and Fr Colin Tan SJ, respectively. All events were ably and warmly hosted by the Care for Creation Team of Caritas Singapore.
All parishes and Catholic establishments in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei are urged to celebrate REGENERATE! Year Two and the Season of Creation 2026. Resources for REGENERATE! have been made available to all dioceses through this folder: https://cloud.exooxe.com/index.php/s/MQ44e5giMwBdbPo while resources for the Season of Creation are available at seasonofcreation.org.
Please contact your diocesan Creation Justice Commission for assistance or write to Clare Westwood at creationjustice.msb@gmail.com.
