Local Development and Peace-Caritas Canada representative details their annual Lenten campaign
This article details the theme for this year’s Share Lent Campaign with Development and Peace-Caritas Canada, the Canadian Catholic Church’s official charity for supporting communities in the global south. A special collection for this campaign will be held on the 5th Sunday of Lent, March 22nd.
Lent is a time of repentance, reflection, and repair. It is a time when our Church encourages us to help transform our world by our prayer and our actions on behalf of the world’s most poor and marginalized. It is also a time, on the fifth Sunday of Lent, when we are asked to give generously to Development and Peace-Caritas Canada (DPCC).
Development and Peace, as we call it, was created by the Canadian Bishops as the official international development and solidarity organization of the Catholic Church in Canada. It supports vital sustainable development and humanitarian aid projects which serve some of our most vulnerable sisters and brothers in dozens of countries across the Global South.
Every year the Share Lent campaign invites us to learn more about these projects and support them with our generosity. This gives us an opportunity to follow the example of Jesus who, as Pope Leo reminds us, “identified himself with those in the lowest ranks of society” through his love.
By standing in solidarity with society’s neglected people, who are served by Development and Peace, we can walk in the footsteps of Christ. We can mirror his loving gaze, and bring our relationship with Christ and our faith to fruitfulness.
The theme for the 2026 Share Lent campaign is called “On Track for Justice”. It takes us to Brazil where we will learn about one of Development and Peace’s partners called Justica nos Trilhos – an organization which helps communities affected by rail lines that carry iron ore daily, in open rail cars, from the mines to a shipping port about 900 kilometres away.
This campaign draws our attention to communities that are being very negatively affected by dust, noise, and air pollution from the trains’ travels. As well, it details the impacts on their health, the health of their livestock, their lands and waterways, from widespread deforestation, and toxic spray pesticides used in industrial agriculture in the region. All of these practices have devastated the health and livelihoods of many people who live in trackside communities along the rail line.
Development and Peace’s partner organization, Justica nos Trilhos, has been able to help a community of 312 families to relocate to safer distances, away from the rail line, where they can live and raise their children in peace and safety. Their lives are transformed when this happens. These transformations are possible thanks in part to the contributions to Development and Peace which supports Justica nos Trilhos. These donations come from folks like ourselves. They are important to continue that work with partners in Brazil and numerous other countries in the Global South.
Your Lenten gift to Development and Peace-Caritas Canada makes a difference for communities like the ones in Brazil. Please give generously on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, which we also call Solidarity Sunday, when we highlight the Share Lent campaign each year. In this way, you help Development and Peace to further its mission of addressing the root causes of poverty and building a more just and compassionate world for all peoples.
Thank you for your generosity!
How Can I Learn More About this Share Lent Campaign?
• Take part in the upcoming Share Lent Workshop, which will be offered online on February 21st, as well as regional Alberta/Norwest Territories workshops on Feb. 17th and 28th. Details can be found at www.devp.org
• Consider having simple Lenten suppers each week before the Friday Stations of the Cross devotions (For example, St Joseph’s in GP starts with soup at 5:45pm and Stations at 7pm. St Mary’s in Beaverlodge starts at 6pm with soup and Stations at 7pm). This can also be a good time to talk about the Lenten reflection offered each week. Sign up for it in the Resources section of the website.
• Celebrate Solidarity Sunday on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, on March 22, 2026 in your parish. You can present the Symbols of Solidarity and use the prayer reflections offered on the website at www.devp.org. Click on Resources for a wealth of materials to use throughout the Lenten season. You can learn more about this campaign at devp.org/en/campaign/on-track-for-justice/
• Join in a simple meal following the Mass in solidarity with those in the world who suffer hunger every single day. Be generous in your Solidarity Sunday Share Lent donation, to support the work of Development and Peace around the world.
• Use the prayer resources offered for each Sunday of Lent. Sign up for the weekly Lenten reflection which will be sent to your inbox. Learn about Development and Peace global partner organizations and the vital work they do with help from Development and Peace.
Thank you for your support for Development and Peace-Caritas Canada in its work with partners around the world, its humanitarian aid, as well as its In-Canada education and advocacy work. May your Lenten season be fruitful with the grace, mercy, and Peace of Christ.
This article was written by local Development and Peace-Caritas Canada representative Mia Klein-Gebbinck. She can be reached at miklge@telus.net