Pope Leo XIV this morning, Oct. 4, signed his first major document, an apostolic exhortation called “Dilexi te” (“I have loved you”), which will focus on love for the poor. The Vatican said it will be published next Thursday, Oct. 9, and emphasized that Leo signed it on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, whose embrace of poverty is well known.

The title of the exhortation comes from Revelation 3:9, the last book of the bible. It can be seen as a companion document to “Dilexit nos” (“He loved us”), the fourth and final encyclical issued by Pope Francis on “the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ,” published on Oct. 24, 2024. While that encyclical called believers to focus on the love of Jesus, this new document, begun under Francis and completed by Leo, emphasizes the call to believers to love the poor as Jesus did.

It is hardly surprising that Pope Leo should devote his first major document to the poor. Since his ordination in 1982 he has spent almost half of his priestly life, some 20 years, working as a missionary among the poor in Peru. Moreover, the fact that an early draft of the exhortation had been prepared during the last part of Francis’ pontificate, opened the path for Leo to complete it. Pope Francis also completed a document begun by his predecessor, Benedict XVI: “Lumen Fidei” was published on June 29, 2013.

Leo’s exhortation is expected to show his continuity with Francis in relation to the poor and the reality of poverty in today’s world. The first Jesuit pope had time and again emphasized that “the poor are at the heart of the Gospel,” and he showed not just in words but in multiple concrete ways his love for the poor, including ensuring that people in need were present at his funeral.