Context
Pope Leo XIV issued the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te (On the Love of the Poor) on the Feast of St Francis of Assisi in 2025, Five months after his election, Leo XIV completed a text that Pope Francis was working on just before his death.
Dilexi Te is addressed to all Christians. It appears at a time of global polycrisis. Multiple distinct crises – economic, geopolitical, ecological, social and technological – interact with and amplify each other. Domestic and global politics are increasingly polarised. Popularist, authoritarian, and nationalist movements and governments are on the rise. Some Christian nationalist movements are professing a ‘prosperity Gospel’ blaming those made poor for their situation.
Major Issues
Dilexi Te‘s key concern is calling Christians to remember that love of the poor is the “burning heart of the Church’s mission” (n 15). There can be no authentic Christian living without active care for those made poor.
Leo XIV points out the multifaceted nature of poverty noting
“the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalised and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty, the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom” (n 9).
Leo XIV says that poverty is not a matter of chance or fate (n 14). It is a result of the ways in which our economies and societies function. It is not usually the fault of those who experience poverty. (n 92 – 95). He acknowledges the impact of intersectionality saying that women are often “doubly poor” (n 12).
Methodology
Dilexi Te is a masterful presentation of the Christian story. Adopting an historical approach, it offers many examples of witness and action. It demonstrates the roots of contemporary concern and action in the faith sources of Catholic theological ethics.
Because some Christians “dismiss or ridicule charitable works” Leo is convinced of “the need to go back and re-read the Gospel, lest we risk replacing it with the wisdom of the world” (n 15). In chapter 2 he schools the reader on God’s love of the poor in the Hebrew Scriptures and throughout the New Testament.
Chapter 3 outlines how the tradition of the church has interpreted and lived this commitment from apostolic times to the present. Meanwhile chapter 4 outlines the development of modern Catholic Social Teaching in relation to poverty, indicating that this is an ongoing tradition.
Finally, chapter 5 addresses the challenge of caring for those made poor when “the dominant culture at the beginning of this millennium would have us abandon the poor to their fate and consider them unworthy of attention, much less our respect” (n 105). While Leo XIV shows how Catholic Social Teaching understands the structural and institutional causes of poverty, he also emphasises the importance of almsgiving. Almsgiving is proximate and personal. In this way Leo XIV continues Francis’ emphasis on a culture of encounter, listening and dialogue.
Contribution to CST
Dilexi Te does not present new teaching. It is a timely call to action.
Leo XIV strongly affirms the preferential option for the poor. By tracing its development in the teaching of the Latin American Bishops he affirms a teaching role for Bishops Conferences. This aligns more with the positions of Francis, Paul VI, and Vatican II than John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
Dilexi Te is not simply a response to the MAGA movement and the second Trump administration. However, the first Pope born in the USA speaking in this way at this time has sent a powerful message globally.
Link to Full Text
Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te of the Holy Father Leo XIV on Love for the Poor (4 October 2025)
Resources on Dilexi Te
Infographics and other resources from the Dicastery for Promtoing Integral Human Development