Pope Leo urges deeper hope and justice for the poor

In his message for the Ninth World Day of the Poor, to be observed on Sunday, 16 November 2025, Pope Leo XIV calls on the faithful to renew their hope in God and recognize the poor as central to the Church’s mission.

Quoting Psalm 71—“You, O Lord, are my hope”—the pope reflects on the spiritual strength of those who live with daily hardship.

“They embody hope amid uncertainty, poverty, and exclusion,” he writes, noting how the poor often display a faith that transcends material security.

He warns that the gravest poverty is the absence of God. Quoting Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Leo highlights the need to offer the poor not only material support but also spiritual care, including the sacraments and the Word of God.

He challenges the Church to move beyond seeing service to the poor as mere charity. 

“The poor are not recipients of our pastoral care, but creative subjects,” the pope affirms, urging all to recognize their wisdom, experience, and presence as signs of the Gospel.

As the Jubilee Year draws to a close, the pope appeals for renewed action to address both long-standing and emerging forms of poverty. Access to work, education, housing, and healthcare, he says, must be treated as issues of justice, not simply generosity.

In a world shaken by instability, he encourages the Church to remain anchored in the hope of Christ, which leads us to transform our cities into reflections of the “City of God.”

The message concludes with a prayer to Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted, and a call to raise “a song of hope,” proclaiming: “In you, O Lord, is our hope, and we shall never hope in vain.”

The World Day of the Poor, instituted by Pope Francis in 2016, continues to be a yearly reminder that the Christian faith must be lived with and among the poor—through solidarity, listening, and transformative action.