On Saturday, Pope Leo XIV issued the first Apostolic Exhortation of his pontificate, Dilexit Te (Latin for “I have loved you”), encouraging all Christians to care for the most vulnerable people in society: the poor, the sick, those who experience exclusion and violence, migrants, and refugees. The pontiff also called to oppose modern slavery, make education available to all, and perform works of charity, among other things.
Pope Leo explained that this document was started by his predecessor, but that he was happy to make it his own and to add some reflections: “In continuity with the Encyclical Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis was preparing in the last months of his life an Apostolic Exhortation on the Church’s care for the poor, to which he gave the title Dilexit Te, as if Christ speaks those words to each of them, saying: ‘You have but little power, yet I have loved you’ (Rev 3:9).”
Click here to read Pope Leo’s Apostolic Exhortation Dilexit Te in English. Vatican News posted an overview of the document, which is available here.