Vatican City: The Vatican on Thursday unveiled Dilexi te (“I Have Loved You”), the first Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Leo XIV a document that places love for the poor at the very heart of Christian faith. Begun under Pope Francis and completed by Pope Leo, the exhortation is both a continuation of Francis’ pastoral vision and a bold theological statement marking the direction of the new pontificate.
The document was presented at a press conference in the Holy See Press Office, where Franciscan theologian Fr. Frédéric-Marie le Méhauté, OFM, reflected on its significance in an interview with Vatican News. A professor of theology in Paris and Provincial Vicar of the Franciscans in France and Belgium, Fr. le Méhauté emphasized that the exhortation does not merely call for charity it redefines the relationship between faith and poverty itself.
“The main theme, as its subtitle declares, is love for the poor,” Fr. le Méhauté explained. “But it’s not only about loving them it’s about how we love them, how we work with them, and how we build a society not for them, but with them.”
He stressed that Dilexi te challenges a long-held misunderstanding among many believers who view service to the poor as an optional expression of Christian goodness. “We often think, ‘I go to Mass, I pray, I love Jesus and therefore, I should help the poor.’ But Pope Leo reminds us that the encounter with the poor is not a consequence of faith it is the very place where Revelation happens,” he said.
In this sense, the exhortation presents a radical theological vision: the poor are not recipients of Christian charity but co-bearers of divine revelation. “It is in living with and like the poor,” Fr. le Méhauté added, “that we come to know the true God.”
The document’s origins trace back to Pope Francis, whose pontificate was deeply marked by a commitment to social justice and the marginalized. Fr. le Méhauté noted that distinguishing between the two popes’ contributions is nearly impossible: “It’s a joint text, a seamless continuation of Francis’ magisterium, but also a kind of program for Pope Leo’s papacy.”
The tone of Dilexi te reflects the shared vision of both pontiffs a Church that walks alongside the poor, not above them; a community that listens as much as it teaches.
As a Franciscan, Fr. le Méhauté offered a deeply personal reflection on the difference between chosen poverty and involuntary poverty. Recalling an encounter with a homeless man early in his ministry, he shared:
“When I explained that I had taken a vow of poverty, the man grabbed me and said, ‘Don’t tell me about poverty; you know nothing about it.’ That moment changed me. I realized that while I work with poor people, I do not live their reality. I do not know what it is like to sleep under a bridge or to go hungry. My poverty is chosen; theirs is imposed.”
For him, this humility lies at the core of Dilexi te. “Chosen poverty means approaching others without power, without pretense empty-handed,” he said. It is not about romanticizing deprivation, but about standing in solidarity with those who suffer from it.
Fr. le Méhauté also reflected on what it means to “live like the poor,” a phrase that Pope Leo uses throughout the exhortation. “To live like the poor,” he said, “is not to replicate their suffering, but to live with a kind of holy unrest to resist comfort, to stay open to others’ needs.”
He shared a symbolic suggestion once given to him: “Keep a broken glass in your home to remind you that someone is sleeping outside tonight.” For him, such reminders nurture empathy and vigilance, calling believers to remain unsettled until justice and compassion are shared realities.
The Franciscan theologian underlined that true evangelization happens through encounter, not instruction. “We may go to the poor thinking we have something to teach them, but we must also go asking: ‘What do you know that I do not? How do you see life, how do you see the Gospel?’”
According to Dilexi te, the Gospel cannot be fully understood apart from this mutual exchange. Faith is not perfected in comfort but in communionwith those who are forgotten, voiceless, or oppressed.
Asked what message he hopes readers will take from the exhortation, Fr. le Méhauté replied simply: “Do not be afraid of the poor. They can give you the true Gospel.”
In Dilexi te, Pope Leo XIV continues and deepens the Church’s mission to bring light where there is neglect, dignity where there is deprivation, and faith where there is suffering.
The exhortation, both tender and uncompromising, reaffirms a timeless truth: love for the poor is not an act of charity it is the essence of Christianity itself.