10th World Day of the Poor: Pope Leo XIV Calls Christians to Be a Refuge for the Poor
The Catholic Church marked the 10th World Day of the Poor on November 15. In his message for the day, themed "The Lord is the refuge of the poor" (cf. Psalm 14:6), Pope Leo XIV wrote that in Christ, Christians "are called to become poor and to be a refuge for the poor." The message was signed at the Vatican on June 13 this year, the memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua.
The World Day of the Poor falls each year on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, which this year is November 15. Leo XIV wrote that the poor of our day are "robbed not only of bread, but also of a voice and a face," and that the digital environment amplifies prejudice against the poor and silences their cries.
The message cites the Pope's apostolic exhortation Dilexi te, reaffirming that "God shows a preference for the poor," and says that against the obsession of accumulating wealth only for oneself, God responds with steadfast welcome, opening hearts to receive all into his love.
The Pope himself is visiting Peru this week: on November 15 he led the Angelus in Cusco and was to celebrate Mass in the Amazonian city of Pucallpa. In Rome, the World Day of the Poor Mass at St Peter's Basilica was presided over by Archbishop Luis Marín de San Martín, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. Under the dicastery's arrangements, after returning to Rome the Pope will share lunch with some 1,300 people facing hardship in the Paul VI Audience Hall on November 22.
Related: Follow-Up: Pope Leo to Cross Peru in One Day, Visiting Inca City Cusco and Amazon Gateway Pucallpa
(Source: Vatican)
Source: Vatican
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：梵蒂冈圣伯多禄大殿立面上的圣像（资料照片）。Dietmar Rabich 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Statues on the facade of St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City (file photo). Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
