Pope Leo XIV has issued his first major papal document, his Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te (“I Have Loved You”).
The document is a pastoral reflection on the Christian duty to love and serve the poor. Signed on 4 October, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, and released by the Vatican on 9 October, it represents both a continuation and completion of work begun by Pope Francis shortly before his death.
In his preface to the exhortation, Pope Leo reveals that his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, had been preparing the text when he died earlier this year. “I am happy to make this document my own,” he writes, explaining that he added reflections of his own while retaining the heart of Pope Francis’s message. The resulting text, he says, seeks to invite all Christians “to appreciate the close connection between Christ’s love and his summons to care for the poor.”
