In his final months, Pope Francis was preparing an Apostolic Exhortation on the Church's care for the poor. Giving it the title "Dilexi Te", he intended it to be a follow-up to his final encyclical, "Dilexit Nos". The title is a message of love from Jesus to the poor, referring to the Book of Revelation: "You have but little power," yet "I have loved you" (3:9).

Now, at the start of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has chosen to make this document his own, by adding his own reflections to those of Pope Francis, "since I share the desire of my beloved predecessor that all Christians come to appreciate the close connection between Christ’s love and his summons to care for the poor."

"Love for the Lord, then, is one with love for the poor. The same Jesus who tells us, "The poor you will always have with you" (Mt 26:11), also promises the disciples: "I am with you always" (Mt 28:20). We likewise think of his saying: "Just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me" (Mt 25:40). This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us." (§5)