Pope John XXIII wrote compellingly about the appeal of agrarianism in his 1961 encyclical Mater et magistra (Christianity and Social Progress).

“Those who live on the land can hardly fail to appreciate the nobility of the work they are called upon to do,” wrote the pontiff. “They are living in close harmony with Nature — the majestic temple of Creation. Their work has to do with the life of plants and animals, a life that is inexhaustible in its expression, inflexible in its laws, rich in allusions to God the Creator and Provider.”

The captivation of homesteading has waxed and waned throughout the centuries. Today, land-based living is experiencing a revival as it’s deemed a way to reorient away from the various ills of modernity.

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Catholics seeking rural resettlement onto productive land they own have an ally in the Catholic Land Movement (CLM). This society, with chapters in North America, Europe, Africa, South America and Australia, offers families and individuals the education, fellowship and support needed to transition away from urban living.

In early 2025, there were over 30 “back to the land” CLM chapters across the United States and not a single Canadian branch. Now, there are more than 80 chapters across the U.S. and four in Canada — and more are being constituted each week.

Michael Thomas, the executive director and co-founder of CLM’s modern incarnation with Andrew Ewell, told The Catholic Register the original movement emerged in the 1920s and ‘30s, first in England, as a response to industrialization. The original CLM thrived and grew to 10,000 different families, but it lost momentum and dwindled due to the great disruptor that was World War II.

It also represented a practical avenue of living the main principles outlined in Pope Leo XIII’s influential 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum (Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour) — right to private property, dignity of human labour, right to a just wage, the right to organize and a preferential treatment of the poor.

“The Catholic Land Movement of yesteryear created civic associations, programming, events and vocational schools that executed those principles as best as they could see,” said Thomas, a shepherd and orchardist living on a farm in upstate New York. “They taught workshops on how to do various aspects of sustenance agriculture. They had a vocational training centre that we would understand as a farm incubator. They helped Catholics find property.

“So many young Catholics now are still struggling with that access to property,” continued the father of six. "How do I actually (obtain) a little slice of my own so that I can work in co-creation with God's stewardship?”

After Thomas began homesteading a decade ago, he increasingly saw binding ties between the values of his Catholic faith and agrarian localism, and he sought to explore that connection further through research. He uncovered the CLM.

“I looked around and said, ‘well, who's doing this now? In the contemporary world, where is this happening?' And I couldn't find anything,” said Thomas. “That was the moment a handful of other people, and I, six years ago, said, ‘you know what? It's time to start the Catholic Land Movement again.' And we did, and it exploded.”

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And this budding visibility and popularity of CLM — the movement received a written endorsement from Pope Leo XIV in November —  has reached a significant threshold in 2026, with its first four Canadian networks emerging in the past four months. Chapters have been established in London, Kitchener, Peterborough and Glengarry County, Ont.

Feisal Borjas is the founder and leader of the Kitchener CLM chapter. The 25-year-old, a senior consultant of corporate strategy and enablement at Sun Life, deepened his interest in agrarianism after reading the book The Liturgy of the Land: Cultivating a Catholic Homestead a year ago with his wife.

“We felt inspired by the vision of a family-centred homesteading lifestyle that the book was painting for us and thought that we would really love to do this for our family,” said Borjas, who is blessed with a young son and has another baby on the way. “It could be a great environment for our family and faith to flourish.”

Borjas and his wife needed some mentorship and guidance on how to actualize this vision. Digging online brought them to the Catholic Land Movement.

“I reached out through the contact form and connected with Michael, who shared with me that there were no Canada chapters at the moment,” said Borjas. “It was the summer of 2025, and they were looking for leadership. I thought to myself, ‘okay, well, if we're pretty serious about wanting to homestead for our family, I think this is something we feel called to, then why not learn more about the opportunity?' ”

Kitchener CLM launched on Feb. 7 with a kick-off event featuring Mass, a potluck lunch and an informational session at St. Mary’s Parish in Linwood, Ont. Dozens of people attended the event, and the group has continued to grow over the past two months. Each month, a chapter member has stepped up to host an event that imparts a homesteading skill. In March, a member led a maple syrup workshop. On April 18, Kitchener CLM learned the keys to seed starting. And the group began a book study of The Liturgy of the Land: Cultivating a Catholic Homestead.

Borjas is grateful for how the grace of God has enabled the chapter to enjoy a fruitful beginning, and that three more Canadian CLM groups have since come on to the scene. The goal for him in the immediate future is to continue growing the group and his homesteading skillset so he can transition to the rural lifestyle in due course.

Spiritual yearning has indeed inspired both Borjas and Thomas to pursue this path. Thomas has already experienced the increased intimacy with God the Creator through working the land, something Borjas awaits.

“You can go back all the way to the time of Cicero, and he's like, ‘you wouldn't ask me to come back to Rome if you could see the cabbages in my garden!’ ” said Thomas. "There is this beautiful truth of a life of humility lived close to the earth in participation with God's created order. It is beautiful and leads to a discernment that begins with contemplating higher things, and then God and eventually a desire for His beatific vision.”

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Regarding the macro dynamics of this back-to-the-land movement, Borjas pointed the Register to an April 6 podcast called The Land Beneath Your Feet: a five-part series about the Catholic Land Movement. The hosts provide five notions of why the new CLM is resonating strongly: breakdown of institutional trust in society, the explosive growth of homeschooling and homesteading, the resurgence of Christianity, a desire for food autonomy amid global supply chain challenges and cultural disintegration, making people hungry for genuine community.

To learn more, visit catholiclandmovement.info.