In his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi Te ("I have loved you"), Pope Leo XIV focuses on poverty and love for the poor. The Holy Father signed this first magisterial document of his pontificate on October 4, 2025, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.
The document's title is reminiscent of the fourth and final encyclical of Pope Francis, Dilexit Nos, on the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ, released in October 2024. Dilexi Te, begun by Pope Francis before his death and completed by Pope Leo XIV, turns our attention to how we can become a church for the poor.
In Dilexi Te, Pope Leo XIV reflects on Saint Francis and his radical life of poverty. Like Saint Francis, we must seek to imitate Christ by detaching ourselves from earthly glory and possessions to better serve God and our neighbor, especially the poor and most vulnerable among us.
