The Canticle of the Sun, also known as Laudes Creaturarum (Praise of the Creatures) and Canticle of the Creatures, is a religious song composed by Saint Francis of Assisi. It was written in an Umbrian dialect of Italian but has since been translated into many languages.
Saint Francis rejected material wealth and embraced God's creation. He came to value the elements of Earth such as earth, wind and fire. He realized the world was a place for many of God's creatures and not simply men. He saw the entire picture of the Earth as a very important aspect of God's creation. Sustenance was part of his worship. Where there existed creatures other than people there needed to be reverence to their existence.
St. Francis was probably the first real environmentalist and climatologist.
