Vatican City – “The poor can become witnesses of a strong and reliable hope precisely because it is professed in a precarious condition of life, marked by deprivation, fragility and marginalisation. They do not rely on the securities of power and possessions; on the contrary, they suffer under them and are often their victims.”
With these words begins Pope Leo XIV’s Message for the 9th World Day of the Poor, signed today, 13 June 2025, on the liturgical memorial of St Anthony of Padua, universally invoked as the patron of the poor. It is a message steeped in spirituality, the Word of God, and a concrete appeal to return to the interior life — a message that lies at the heart of the Jubilee Year, as both its natural fruit and its measure.
The title of the Message — “You, O Lord, are my hope” (Ps 71:5) — is not a mere biblical citation, but a theological and pastoral synthesis of the entire text. Pope Leo XIV reinterprets the psalm in an existential key, reminding us that authentic hope is born precisely in the midst of trial, when all other forms of security falter. It is the hope of the poor, who have lost everything except God and who, for that very reason, become living icons of radical trust. The Pontiff repeatedly underlines the need to rediscover God as a hidden treasure, the true wealth that liberates us from the yoke of material illusions. It is a direct echo of the Gospel words: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…” (Mt 6:19). In this light, the poor become spiritual teachers for us all — especially for those who risk forgetting the radical demands and urgency of the Gospel.
In one striking passage, Leo XIV denounces what he calls “the gravest poverty: not knowing God.” Quoting St Augustine, he highlights the spiritual negligence shown towards the poor, who are in need not only of bread, but also of the Word, the sacraments, consolation, and meaning. “Without God,” writes Leo XIV, “whatever you may possess will only make you feel more empty.”
The document moves with balance between proclamation and denunciation, contemplation and action. Pope Leo XIV urges Christian communities not to reduce charity to a sporadic gesture, but to integrate it within a broader vision of social justice and structural transformation. “Helping the poor is a matter of justice before it is one of charity,” he affirms, again drawing on Augustine, who insisted that charity must never become a pretext for tolerating injustice.
The Jubilee, to which this message is deeply linked, is presented as a time of social conversion, which does not end with the closing of the Holy Door, but continues in the historical and political responsibility of Christians. Leo XIV expresses gratitude for the many initiatives already in place — soup kitchens, family homes, listening centres — but calls for a further step: placing the poor not only at the centre of assistance, but at the heart of the Church’s entire pastoral mission. Thus, we move beyond hollow slogans and captivating phrases towards a clear and powerful message: we must first attend to a poverty that is far more widespread than hunger — spiritual poverty.
Finally, to seal the spirituality of this appeal, the Pope entrusts the journey to Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted, and concludes with the great prayer of hope that closes the Te Deum: “In Te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum – In you, O Lord, I have hoped, never let me be put to shame.”
The Message for the 9th World Day of the Poor — Leo XIV’s first — thus becomes a true invitation to evangelical hope and a masterful reflection on human dignity, especially the dignity of the poor. It is both a manifesto of spirituality and of justice, calling the Church and the world to choose a return to what truly matters.
T.S.
Silere non possum