The first Apostolic Exhortation from Pope Leo XIV entitled Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”) is greeted with the utmost joy and appreciation by our 81,000 members of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA (SVdPUSA).
The vision outlined by the Holy Father to serve the poor with love and compassion is not only the call of the Gospel, it has been our mission as Vincentians each day in the U.S. and 155 countries since our founding in 1833 in Paris, France.
More than a century ago, Leo XIII began a new tradition in Catholic Social Doctrine, connecting the church’s timeless teaching directly to contemporary circumstances and realities, and reminding the world that although the face of poverty may change, our duty to the poor does not.
More recently, Pope Francis emphatically reminded us that the Church cannot be separated from the poor. The mission of the Church, he said, must always be to embrace the most vulnerable with Christ’s love by meeting their individual material needs, while diligently working to improve societal and governmental systems and structures to lessen the gap between rich and poor.
Pope Leo XIV now continues this tradition with a perceptive and bold exhortation that inspires us to see the face of Christ in each person we encounter. Pope Leo is encouraging and even demanding that each of us take action in our own neighborhoods and communities to improve the lives of our brothers and sisters as we care for them as our neighbor.
At The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, we do this every day through our one-on-one encounters, our shelters and food banks, our work with those leaving prison, our advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C. and state capitals, and so many other programs.
It is in these ways that Vincentians live the Beatitudes and will continue to answer the call of the Holy Father in his first Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi Te.
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