Pope Leo XIV sent a letter commending the work of Catholic Charities USA, the domestic charitable arm of the Catholic Church in the U.S., to mark its 115th annual gathering Oct. 6-9 in San Juan.

Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation “Dilexi Te” (“I have loved you”), promulgated Oct. 9, 2025 — the feast day of St. John Henry Newman — explores love and charity for the poor.

Greeting a pilgrimage of labor union leaders from Chicago, Pope Leo XIV thanked them for helping “to create a society where all can flourish.”

Consecrated men and women, who abandon themselves “like children into the arms of the Father,” spread “the ‘fresh air’ of authentic love throughout the world,” he said in his homily during Mass in St. Peter’s Square Oct. 9, marking the Jubilee of Consecrated Life.

The apostolic exhortation “Dilexi Te” (“I Have Loved You”) on the church’s love for the poor, “is Pope Leo’s document. It is the magisterium of the church,” although Pope Leo himself wrote that it was begun by Pope Francis, said Cardinal Michael Czerny.

Many Christians “need to go back and re-read the Gospel” because they have forgotten that faith and love for the poor go hand in hand, Pope Leo XIV said in his first major papal document.

Described as an exercise in “continuity” with Pope Francis, the apostolic exhortation is an ode to the 265th Successor of Peter while at the same time a further indicator of the priorities of the 266th.

Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation “Dilexi Te” (“I have loved you”), was promulgated Oct. 9, the feast day of St. John Henry Newman.

Pope Leo XIV expressed solidarity with the immigrant community in the U.S. and urged the church to be a united voice on their behalf in an Oct. 8 private audience with immigration advocates.

Many immigrants in the United States are living with the same fear people experienced under the “tyrannical” communist governments of the past, said Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas.