This Wednesday, 5 March, marks the beginning of Lent, a special time for prayer and reflection. This year is special because it coincides with the Jubilee Year and the 10th Anniversay of Laudato Si‘.
Most CIDSE members organise campaigns and activities with the purpose to pray and raise awareness on issues such as the right to food and sustainable food systems, climate change, gender injustice, peace-building, debt justice or alternative economic models but also to call us all to become actors of change for a sustainable world.
In keeping with tradition, Pope Francis has shared his Lenten message for 2025, offering reflections on what it means to “journey together in hope”, in the broader context of the Jubilee Year “Pilgrims of hope”. An important element is the emphasis on community and synodality – the idea that Christians must walk together rather than in isolation.
“Journeying together means consolidating the unity grounded in our common dignity as children of God (cf.Gal3:26-28). It means walking side-by-side, without shoving or stepping on others, without envy or hypocrisy, without letting anyone be left behind or excluded.”
We invite you to take a look at the resources and activities organised by our member organisations during this period and the inspiring stories of their partners.
Broederlijk Delen, Belgium: “SAMEN OOGSTEN WE SUCCES” (TOGETHER WE REAP SUCCESS)
What is unhealthy in Europe is unhealthy elsewhere. However, despite being banned in the European Union, chemical companies continue to produce and export toxic pesticides outside the EU, harming the agro-ecological transition in the global South. Broederlijk Delen’s campaign addresses these double standards. Together with partners, it investigates the impact of the problem, works on solutions on the ground and fights for a different policy. Read the stories of its partners.
This year, the mascot is a scarecrow. Supporters are invited to make one and display it in a visible place during the campaign. Why? Some scarecrows are frightening and symbolise death and poison, but others are hopeful and symbolise a model of agriculture that respects nature: birds are sent away from the fields without being poisoned.
More information about the campaign on the Broederlijk Delen website.
CAFOD, England and Wales: “A NET OF HOPE”
CAFOD’s Lent appeal highlights the story of Lokho from Northern Kenya and her community’s resilience in overcoming the devastating impacts of drought. Together, they worked to protect their crops from the harsh climate. Supporters are invited to help families like Lokho to get a safety net so they can get through times of crisis and begin to build a better future.
CAFOD and SCIAF are also teaming up to bring the Big Lent Walk to Great Britain. Thousands of walkers from England, Wales, Scotland and beyond, will be walking 200km this Lent to fight global poverty.
More information about the campaign on the CAFOD website.
CCFD-Terre Solidaire, France: “FACE À LA FAIM, UNISSONS NOS POUVOIRS” (IN THE FACE OF HUNGER, LET’S JOIN FORCES)
Throughout the world, we are witnessing the frightening spectacle of extreme climatic events, deadly wars and large-scale industrial exploitation exacerbating food insecurity. Everywhere on the planet, hunger and malnutrition are reaching critical levels. While small-scale producers feed some 80% of the world’s population, it is shocking that they are also the ones who suffer most from hunger. CCFD-Terre Solidaire invites its supporters to experience a Lent of solidarity against hunger and to unite to support sustainable agriculture and empower farming communities. This year, the campaign ambassadors are Assesoar (Brazil), IFDP (DR Congo), SNEHA (India) and FNSA (Morocco).
More info on the campaign available on the CCFD-Terre Solidaire website.
Development & Peace, Canada: “TURN DEBT INTO HOPE” / “TRANSFORMER LA DETTE EN ESPOIR”
2025 is a Jubilee year. A year in which Pope Francis invites us to “forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them.” Development and Peace is responding to this call through the global Turn Debt into Hope campaign. Supporters are asked to sign the global petition calling for an end to unjust and unsustainable debt and are invited to join activities on a virtual solidarity calendar. Through the lens of ecological debt, they are also invited to discover the work of its partners, the Episcopal Commission for Social Action (CEAS) and the Institute Bartolomé de Las Casas (IBC) in Peru as well as in the Philippines.
More information about the campaign on the Development and Peace website. (FR).
Entraide et Fraternité, Belgium: “SEMONS LA SOLIDARITÉ, CULTIVONS L’ESPÉRANCE” / “SEMBREMOS SOLIDARIDAD, CULTIVEMOS ESPERANZA” (LET’S SOW SOLIDARITY AND CULTIVATE HOPE)
This Lent, Entraide et Fraternité’s campaign focuses on Peru and urban agroecology as a vehicle for solidarity. The grassroots initiatives supported by its partners go beyond learning agroecological techniques. The creation of social ties, learning to live together, democracy, intergenerational sharing, emancipation and pride are all positive outcomes of these initiatives. In the face of multiple crises, partners show resilience and that it is possible to organise and help each other in a sustainable way despite the State’s failure to act.
More information about the campaign on the Entraide et Fraternité website.
Fastenaktion, Switzerland: Ecumenical Campaign “HUNGER FRISST ZUKUNFT” / “LA FAIM BOUFFE L’AVENIR” / “LA FAME DIVORA IL FUTURO” (HUNGER EATING UP THE FUTURE)
Can hunger really ‘eat up’ the future? Sadly, yes, because it prevents millions of people around the world from living in dignity and realising their full potential, depriving entire generations of a future. In 2025, the Swiss Ecumenical Campaign starts a new three-year cycle on the right to food. This year, it aims to raise awareness among the public about the problem of access to food by asking questions such as “How can we build a future without hunger?” or “Can responsible consumption contribute to a more just and equitable distribution of food?” and offering ideas for reflection on healthy, ethical and sustainable food. Discover the projects in focus: Cameroon, Honduras, India and DR Congo.
More information about the campaign on the Ecumenical website ( DE / FR / IT)
KOO and Katholische Frauenbewegung Österreich, Austria: “Gemeinsam für mehr Klimagerechtigkeit” (Together for more climate justice)
The people of Colombia are already feeling the effects of the climate crisis, even though they have hardly contributed to climate-damaging emissions. Is that fair? No. This Lent, the campaign of the Austrian Catholic Women’s Movement (KFBÖ) focuses on the inequalities that the climate crisis brings with it, especially for women. Its partners in Colombia, Sercoldes, show in concrete terms how the effects are felt by those women who have hardly contributed to the causes of the climate crisis.
More information about the campaign on the KFBÖ website.
Manos Unidas, Spain: ““COMPARTIR ES NUESTRA MAYOR RIQUEZA” (SHARING IS OUR GREATEST WEALTH)
“62% of Spanish society associates wealth with the economic aspect and only 14% associates wealth with sharing with others”, according to a perception study commissioned by Manos Unidas. This year’s campaign aims to support social and solidarity economy alternatives, such as the Economy of Francesco, which effectively contribute to decent and dignified work, the economy, justice and inclusive and sustainable development for the most impoverished. It wants to promote attitudes, lifestyles and consumption in Spanish society that are consistent with genuine shared prosperity that takes into account the most vulnerable people and communities.
More information about the campaign on the Manos Unidas website.
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, USA: “JUBILEE OF HOPE“
Within the framework of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, this year’s Lenten Reflection Guide from the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns offers reflections, questions, prayers, fasts, and actions based on each week’s Gospel reading in light of Catholic Social Teaching and the experience of Maryknoll missioners who have lived and worked with marginalised communities around the world. The guide can be used individually or in small groups to reflect upon your life patterns, to pray more deeply, and renew your spirit to face the realities of our world.
Misereor, Germany: “AUF DIE WÜRDE. FERTIG. LOS!” (FOR DIGNITY. READY. GO!)
Under this motto, Misereor invites people to support human dignity and make life more bearable for marginalised and disadvantaged people, through the projects of its partner organisation Caritas Sri Lanka-SEDEC. This year’s campaign focuses on the plight of the highland Tamils in Sri Lanka. Many live in small, cramped dwellings on the plantations. Tea pickers are poorly paid, their working conditions are harsh and there are no opportunities for self-determination. There is also a lack of political participation, access to government social services is very difficult, and in many places there is a lack of clean drinking water, health care and sanitation.
More information about the campaign on the Misereor website.
Partage LU, Luxembourg: “DIGNITÉ, HUMANITÉ : DES VALEURS, UN ENGAGEMENT” (DIGNITY, HUMANITY : VALUES AND A COMMITMENT)
This year, Partage.lu is putting human dignity at the heart of its Lenten campaign. Everyone deserves to be respected, listened to and supported, whatever their living conditions. Discover the inspiring testimony of Laudovina, their partner in Brazil, who works every day for the dignity of indigenous peoples.
More information about the campaign on the Partage Lu Facebook page.
SCIAF, Scotland: “Peace building in colombia“
Every year during Lent, SCIAF collects donations in its Weebox, which is also available online. Since 2024, the organisation has also partnered with CAFOD for the The Big Lent Walk.
This year, supporters are invited to help bring real solutions and build peace in active conflict zones in Colombia and around the world. People in Chocó, the poorest region of the country, are particularly at risk. Communities here are some of the most vulnerable in South America, exposed to conflict, with little income and few opportunities. Yet despite their immense suffering, their pain remains invisible to the world.
More information about the campaign on the SCIAF website.
Trócaire, Ireland: “LISTENING TO NATURE”
Trócaire’s Lenten campaign this year focuses on the Jubilee Year and the 10th anniversary of Laudato Sí. It tells the story of Leonardo, a spiritual leader from the La Paz community in Guatemala who integrates his Catholic faith with indigenous Mayan traditions as he sees this as a way of maintaining the unity of the community. Two Church resources are available, one offering many ideas for celebrating both events, and the other, called “Listening to Nature” inviting us, to reconnect with nature through four sessions inspired by the four stages of the Synodal Process.
More info on the campaign available on the Trócaire website.
Vastenactie, Netherlands: “SCHONER KOKEN, BETER LEVEN” (CLEANER COOKING, BETTER LIVING)“
This year’s Vastenactie’s Lenten campaign focuses on clean cooking in Uganda. There, a group of women have discovered how to make briquettes from organic waste to fuel their cooking fires. In doing so, they are saving precious jungle, limiting harmful emissions, reducing litter on the streets and saving a lot of money every day. They can also earn extra income by selling the briquettes. A seemingly simple solution with a big impact!
More information about the campaign on the Vastenactie website
Currently not running a Lenten campaign but many other inspiring activities are the other CIDSE members: Cordaid (Netherlands), eRko (Slovakia), FEC (Portugal), Focsiv (Italy).
Cover illustration: the Entraide et Fraternité’s campaign visual portrays hope and urban agroecology in a colourful Latin American style. Credit: Entraide et Fraternité