Part I
During meals at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome in the spring semester of 1971, I was impressed by the porcelain water pitchers inscribed with lines from St. Francis’ Canticle of All Created Things: “Laudato si’, mi Signore, per sor’aqua/la quale è multo utile et humile et pretiosa et casta” (“Be praised, my Lord, for sister water, who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste”). Forty-four years later, the title of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on the environment “Laudato Si’” reminded me of those ornate Italian vessels. This shows not only how an ordinary household object can leave a lifelong impression on the undergraduate imagination, but also how the Franciscan vision inspires environmental awareness. The pope writes of his namesake, “His response to the world around him was so much more than intellectual appreciation or economic calculus, for to him each and every creature was a sister united to him by bonds of affection. That is why he felt called to care for all that exists.” (LS, no. 11)