“Living Water”: Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar Calls for Faith in Action This Season of Creation
As the global Christian family celebrates the Season of Creation, the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) is answering a profound call to prayer and action. In a heartfelt exhortation to the mission, Fr. José L. Minaku, SJ, President of JCAM, invited the entire conference to reflect on this year's theme, "Living Water," and to join Pope Leo XIV in caring for our common home.
This year's theme draws its inspiration from the prophet Ezekiel’s powerful vision of a river flowing from the Temple: "Wherever the river goes, every living creature will live" (Ezekiel 47:9).
For the people of Africa and Madagascar, Fr. Minaku explains, this scripture resonates with deep urgency. "Water means life, health, food, education, and human dignity," he writes. "Its scarcity or pollution affects the poor and vulnerable first and most severely." This reality makes the protection of water not just an environmental issue, but a matter of social and economic justice.
Pope Leo XIV echoes this sentiment, reminding the faithful that environmental justice is inseparable from human justice and is a duty rooted in faith. Fr. Minaku also points to the wisdom of African tradition, citing Senegalese poet Birago Diop's " Les Souffles, who evoked a world alive with presence in the wind, the tree, and the flowing water. "Creation is not mute; it calls for our attention and care," he notes.
The call to action is already taking shape across the JCAM region, where small initiatives are becoming streams of hope.
1. In Johannesburg, Holy Trinity Catholic Church is providing clean drinking water to the homeless.
2. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Centre d'Action pour la Réhabilitation et la Formation (CARF) is helping communities access water and address pollution.
3. In Malawi, the Jesuit Centre for Ecology and Development (JCED) is rehabilitating boreholes and developing piped-water and solar-powered irrigation systems.
These examples, Fr. Minaku says, "may seem like small streams, but Ezekiel reminds us that a stream can become a river of life."
As the Season of Creation continues, Fr. Minaku has invited every JCAM Province, community, and apostolic work to pray, discern, and act. He concludes with a powerful vision: "May our choices and ministries become channels of living water, so that life may flourish wherever the Society serves."
Read Fr. Minaku's Full Message [Here]
