Dilexi Te (I Have Loved You) is the first apostolic exhortation of Pope Leo XIV. The title is drawn from the Book of Revelation, chapter 3, verse 9. This document was initiated by Pope Francis, and after his time, it was Pope Leo XIV who completed it. The fundamental message the Holy Father communicates through this exhortation is that love for the poor cannot be separated from faith. The exhortation was signed on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The document consists of five chapters, through which the Pope presents various themes across 121 numbered sections.
In the first chapter, the Pope reflects on divine love as communion with those who suffer. The poor are not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be embraced (No. 4). The faithful of the Church must remain attentive and open to the silent cries of the poor who are excluded from social and economic spheres. Each poor person is a sacrament of Christ’s presence (No. 9).
The second chapter briefly presents the Church’s social teachings. The Holy Father reminds the Church of its mission to remain with the poor, inspired by the words of Jesus: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for Me.” God loves the poor, and therefore the Church must give preferential love to the poor – this is the central message conveyed in this exhortation. A Church that forgets the poor is a Church that forgets Christ (No. 17). The Pope calls upon dioceses and religious institutes to evaluate their ministries and annual plans, examining whether the tenderness and mercy of the Good Samaritan are reflected in them.
In the third chapter, the Holy Father analyses the political and economic forces that aggravate poverty on a global scale. In his view, forced migration and exploitative labor are examples of modern injustice and slavery. The experience of migration is part of the history of God’s people. Abraham, Moses, the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt, and even Christ rejected by His own people – all were migrants. In every rejected migrant, it is Christ Himself knocking at our door. When the world builds walls, the Church must build bridges (No. 75). The Holy Father also recalls two saints of modern times who gave special pastoral care to migrants – St. John Baptist Scalabrini and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini.
The fourth chapter presents the face of simplicity that the Church must embody. The exhortation calls priests and religious to live among the poor and to share in their sufferings. The call for the Church to become one with the poor was particularly strong in Latin American countries. The martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador further emphasized this Gospel vision and strengthened its relevance.
In the fifth chapter, the Holy Father urges that love for the poor must be made visible through concrete action. Love must not remain as words, but be practiced in life, like the Good Samaritan. The Pope reminds us that works of charity continue to be deeply relevant.
Through Dilexi Te, Pope Leo invites the Church to rediscover its own soul in the faces of the poor and to walk forward in communion with Christ.
Rev. Dr. Sebastian Chalackal
