Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders and Catholics alike to reach out to marginalised communities on Sunday, as the Church celebrated a “Jubilee of the Poor.”
The US-born pontiff, now six months into his papacy following the death of Pope Francis in May, has emphasised social justice as a key theme of his leadership. During a mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, he acknowledged that the Church remains “wounded by old and new forms of poverty,” while expressing hope that it can continue to be “mother of the poor, a place of welcome and justice.”
Sunday’s celebration coincided with the World Day of the Poor, an annual observance established by Pope Francis in 2017. Pilgrims from around the globe attended the holy year festivities, with Pope Leo scheduled to join a lunch at the Vatican featuring homeless people, refugees, and disabled individuals. Additional community events aimed at supporting the poor were held across Rome.
In his address, Pope Leo urged global leaders to heed the voices of the most vulnerable. “There can be no peace without justice, and the poor remind us of this in many ways, through migration as well as through their cries, which are often stifled by the myth of well-being and progress that does not take everyone into account, and indeed forgets many individuals, leaving them to their fate,” he said.
The pontiff also highlighted “moral and spiritual situations of poverty,” including loneliness, and called on believers to “be attentive to others… reaching out to the marginalised and becoming witnesses of God’s tenderness.”
