Ahead of St. John Bosco Feast Day, Nigerian Catholic Youths Urged to Embrace Environmental Stewardship

Abuja, 26 January, 2026 / 3:25 PM

The Rector of St. Josephine Margaret Bakhita community of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) in Nigeria’s Abuja Archdiocese has challenged Catholic youths to take responsibility for protecting the environment. 

In an interview with ACI Africa on the sidelines of a one-day Don Bosco Walk for service, which the Salesians community organized ahead of the feast of  St. John Bosco, scheduled for January 31, Fr. Augustine Ujorchukwu Njoku described care for nature as both a civic duty and a concrete way of living out the Catholic Church’s call to “care for our common home.”

“We just had a walk for service to promote the physical and mental well-being of our people and also to promote environmental stewardship and ecological conversion among the youths, and to also participate in the Church’s injunction to care for our environment as our common home,” Fr. Njoku told ACI Africa on January 24.

According to the Salesian Catholic Priest, caring for the environment cannot be left to one group alone.

“For Nigerian youth to participate in caring for this earth is a collective responsibility of all, both the civil society and the Church,” he said, adding that young people must be helped to understand that environmental protection is a personal duty. 

“They have to see this earth as a place for each and every one of us,” the SDB member said.

Fr. Njoku highlighted recycling as a practical pathway to environmental sustainability and youth empowerment. 

“All these things that we see on the streets, in the gutters and all that, when they are picked, they can be recycled, and that would be a way of promoting a better environment and wealth creation for the young people,” he noted.

In a separate interview during the same event, the Youth Chaplain of Garki Deanery of Abuja Archdiocese, Fr. Oseromore Okoh, explained that the initiative was deeply rooted in Catholic social teaching and spirituality.

“Today we had a walk of prayer and also a work of service, honoring the legacy of St. John Bosco, the father and teacher of the young,” Fr. Okoh said. 

He added, “We were able to keep our environment clean, calling to mind what Pope Francis calls environmental conversion and environmental stewardship.”

Beyond cleaning the streets, Fr. Okoh said the exercise carried a spiritual message. 

“As we clean outside, we are also invited to clean our hearts, our insides, our consciences, and to allow space for God,” he said.

The Catholic Priest linked the activity to the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi, the Church’s patron saint of ecology.  “His life reminds us that the sun is our brother, the moon is our sister, and we should care for our environment. We should care for one another,” Fr. Okoh said.

Emphasizing the central role of young people, the youth chaplain described them as “key protagonists” in environmental advocacy. 

“They are not only the future of society, but they are also the future of the Church. They are also the custodians of our environment,” he said, noting that youths possess the energy and technological tools needed to drive environmental awareness and advocacy.

Also speaking to ACI Africa, the coordinator of the one-day walk, Ms. Damaris Uja, said the outreach was intended to both clean the environment and sensitize residents. 

“As we walk along the streets, we pick up the dirt that we see and also enlighten people about how they can keep their environment clean,” she said.

Ms. Uja linked worsening weather conditions in Abuja to environmental neglect and deforestation. 

“We’re experiencing hot, hazy weather in Abuja, which was not like this in the past,” she said, blaming the trend on indiscriminate tree cutting without replacement.

She called on youths in Nigeria to plant more trees than they cut. 

“When you cut, you have to plant more because it will take time for it to grow,” she said.