Today, 9 October 2025, Pope Leo XIV released his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te (“I have loved you”), on the Church’s care for the poor. Drafted by Pope Francis before his death and now revised and issued by Pope Leo XIV, the Exhortation is in continuity with Pope Francis’ last encyclical, Dilexit nos (“He has loved us”), on the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Source: cccb.ca, October 9, 2025
Pope Leo emphasizes that “love for the Lord . . . is one with love for the poor” (n. 5). Divided into five chapters, the Exhortation outlines God’s identification with the poor (chapter 2), the centrality of the poor in the Church’s life (chapter 3), the development of the Church’s social doctrine over the past 150 years (chapter 4), and the challenge facing the Church today (chapter 5). In his accompanying letter addressed to the Bishops of the world, Pope Leo outlines his hope for this Apostolic Exhortation: “May Dilexi te help the Church to serve the poor and help bring the poor to Christ.”
The Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te is now available on the Holy See’s website:
