Laudato Si’ Action Plan Newsletter for June 2026, No. 16
Welcome to the sixteenth edition of the Laudato Si’ Action Plan Newsletter of the Carmelite PCM Province. This electronic newsletter is intended to inform the members and partners of this province on our collective commitment to living the values of Laudato Si’ –hearing and responding to the cries of the earth and the cries of the poor. It is prepared by Laudato Si’ Action Plan Coordinator, Dennis Kalob.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
This year, we look to revise and update our province’s Laudato Si’ Action Plan. We wish to include in this new report the progress made by the various Carmelite ministries and communities since they first submitted their individual plans last year.
If you or a member of your ministry or community submitted a plan that was included in our province’s report, we ask that you review it, continue to take steps to fulfill your goals, and begin to consider how you will update your plan later this year. We will be looking for updates by October 4, which is the Feast of St. Francis.
You may also wish to add new goals to pursue in 2027 and beyond. Remember, these action plans are meant to be dynamic, not static, documents.
If your community or ministry did not have an opportunity to submit an action plan last year, you may do so this year and you will be included in the updated provincial report, which we plan to publish in late October.
You can find the current PCM Province’s Laudato Si’ Action Plan here. Please send questions and comments to me, Dennis Kalob, Laudato Si’ Action Plan Coordinator: LSCoordinator@Carmelites.net.
Finally, I would be happy to visit your community or ministry and speak with you in-person about your Laudato Si’ efforts. Or we can speak over the phone or Zoom. Just let me know!
Thank you most sincerely for all that you have done and will continue to do to live the values and vision found in Laudato Si’!
A Report on the Carmelite Ministries in Illinois
In May, I traveled to Darien, IL. I stayed at the Spiritual Center and met with a number of individuals involved in the various ministries associated with the campus. I then traveled to the three Carmelite high schools in the area. What follows is my report on what I saw and learned.
The Carmelite Campus in Darien, IL
(The National Shrine and Museum of St. Thérèse)
A Green Team has been formally established and they are looking to continue to improve the already impressive creation care efforts of the campus.
They are growing the garden areas and emphasizing perennials over annuals (better for the environment and in the long run, financially). They have also planted quite a number of trees. Both the plants and trees that have been selected are native to the region.
The green spaces are cared for by a locally-owned environmentally conscious landscaping company.
Most of the rain that falls on the property collects in a large pond that then is used to irrigate the green spaces of the campus.
The solar array installed a few years ago on the roof of the Spiritual Center provides some of the electricity needed to operate the Center.
Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, IL
Probably the most significant development at Carmel Catholic over the past year has been the opening of a new and very lovely garden area in what had been a fairly simple courtyard at the school. Funded by generous benefactors, the Bartels Family Garden provides a space for students and staff to appreciate nature, build community and enhance mental health. It is a calming and beautiful space.
Another recent development at the school was the planting, in the spring of 2025, of a 20-tree orchard containing a variety of fruit trees—apples, pears, peaches and plums.
The campus also has a one-mile “Rosary Walk,” which is a beautiful outdoor prayer path. They also have a fruit and herb garden and a pollinator garden.
They are continuing to study the feasibility of installing solar panels.
The school also requires all juniors to take a course on Catholic Social Teaching.
Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, IL
Joliet Catholic (JCA) has a robust community service program for students and they require all seniors to take a course on Catholic Social Teaching.
They have a garden club and a very lovely vegetable and herb garden on their campus.
They are considering the installation of a pollinator garden and potentially a bee colony, as well.
They continue to consider a solar array.
JCA’s new stadium will be built with the most efficient lighting system and with other considerations of the environmental impact.
Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, IL
On my last day visiting the area, I went to Mt. Carmel.
The highlight was being shown their new solar array by the president of the school, Brendan Conroy.
The installed solar panels are expected to meet the energy needs of the campus and is estimated to save about $700,000 in electricity costs over the next 25 years.
As part of the deal, they received free roofing worth $350,000. So, they are very happy about both the financial benefits of this project, as well as how it will positively impact the environment.
Further, the campus will continue to take steps to greatly reduce the use of plastics and is also looking to enhance its green spaces with the planting of perennials.
NOTE: The above reports on the Darien campus and the high schools include just some of the highlights. Full reports from these ministries are expected in the fall and will be included in the updated Laudato Si’ Action Plan for the province.
As I was departing for home, I saw this sign at Midway Airport in Chicago:
“On January 1, 2025, the City of Chicago transitioned to 100% renewable energy! All City streetlights and 400+ City buildings – including O’Hare Airport, Midway Airport, Harold Washington Library, City Hall, and more – are now sourced by clean, renewable energy.” To learn more, click here.
July: An important Month for Carmelites
July 16, Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
This memorial was established to commemorate her apparition to Saint Simon Stock on July 16, 1251. It is a special day, of course, for all Catholics and especially Carmelites everywhere.
The banner pictured on the right promotes the celebration of the feast day at the National Shrine of St. Thérèse in Darien, IL. If you are unable to attend in person, you can do so virtually. For more information: https://www.littleflower.org/learn-about/special-events/our-lady-of-mount-carmel-feast-day/
July 20, Feast Day of St. Elijah
St. Elijah is widely regarded as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets and the Father of the Carmelite Order.
July 27, Feast Day of St. Titus Brandsma
Titus Brandsma was a Dutch Carmelite priest, professor, and writer who was martyred by the Nazis at Dachau in 1942.
“He who wants to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come in conflict with it.” –St. Titus Brandsma
MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS
On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence
This is the title of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical letter, which was presented to the world on 15 May 2026. Here is the opening paragraph:
Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together. Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible. Yet every era also runs the risk of creating an inhumane and more unjust world. Whenever humanity is in danger of marring its true identity, we Christians lift our eyes to the Incarnate God, knowing that it is “only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear.” [1] In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness.
[1] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 22: AAS 58 (1966), 1042.
For the full encyclical letter, click here.
