Mumbai: Vincent Pallotti Parish Marks Season of Creation with Call to Protect and Share Water

St. Vincent Pallotti Church in Marol, Mumbai, marked the Season of Creation with a special Mass on Sunday, September 20, focusing on the theme “Living Water” and calling the community to protect, conserve and share water responsibly.

The Mass was presided over by Fr. Bernard Fernandes, assistant parish priest, and organized by the parish Green Cell, led by Georgina Rodrigues.

Mumbai, India’s financial capital and one of Asia’s major metropolitan centers, faces the continuing challenge of managing water resources for a large and densely populated urban community.

The Season of Creation is an annual ecumenical period from September 1 to October 4 during which Christians around the world pray and act for the care of creation. It begins with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and concludes on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. The 2026 theme, “Living Water,” draws on the biblical image of water bringing life and healing.

At St. Vincent Pallotti Church, the celebration involved children, young people and the wider parish community.

Sunday School children grew saplings and brought them to the church to be displayed around the altar, symbolizing new life, growth and creation. Young people preparing for Confirmation created banners on “Living Water” and the Season of Creation, which were displayed on the church windows.

In his homily, Fr. Bernard presented practical actions that parishioners could incorporate into their daily lives to conserve and protect water.

The offertory also used symbols connected with creation. Along with bread and wine, members of the Green Cell presented fruits, a sapling planted in a handmade pot and a fishbowl containing live fish. The offerings represented life, nourishment, growth, water and the biodiversity of creation.

The parish’s activities extended beyond the Sunday Mass. Throughout the Season of Creation, parishioners received a daily Scripture reading, reflection and action plan focused on water.

The Green Cell also prepared a backdrop for the celebration, while saplings nurtured by children, banners created by the Confirmation candidates and plants placed throughout the church turned the parish space into a visible reminder of the theme.

The organizers presented the Mass not simply as a liturgical celebration but as a call to responsible stewardship of creation, emphasizing the need to conserve water and protect the conditions that sustain people, plants and animals.

The celebration drew inspiration from Ezekiel 47:9: “Let the water flow and bring life wherever it goes.”

Through the participation of children, young people and families, the parish sought to connect the biblical image of Living Water with concrete practices of conservation and care for the environment, making the Season of Creation a parish-wide journey of prayer, reflection and action.