This morning, October 4, the day on which the Church commemorates St. Francis of Assisi, at 8:30 a.m., in the private library of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV signed his first Apostolic Exhortation, titled Dilexi teI have loved you”, in the presence of Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.
A text that, as reported several weeks ago from the Vatican to the agency Reutersis centered on love of neighbor and care for the poor. The document takes up a theme deeply linked to the Franciscan spirit and which was already at the heart of the magisterium of his predecessor, Pope Francis.
The exhortation is presented as a pastoral stimulus: it seeks to guide and inspire the faithful towards the values of the Gospel in a concrete way that is close to daily life. Following the example of Evangelii Gaudium o Amoris LaetitiaLeo XIV deepens and completes the work begun by Francis, adapting it to today’s pastoral challenges.
Vatican sources indicate that part of the draft incorporates the contribution of Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, and that Pope Leo XIV asked the Secretariat of State and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for a thorough revision to guarantee the coherence of the text with the contemporary reality of the Church.