Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica yesterday, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time and 9th World Day of the Poor.
“So many forms of poverty oppress our world! First and foremost are material forms of poverty, but there are also many moral and spiritual situations of poverty, which often affect young people in a particular way,” he preached. “The tragedy that cuts across them all is loneliness. It challenges us to look at poverty in an integral way, because while it is certainly necessary at times to respond to urgent needs, we also must develop a culture of attention, precisely in order to break down the walls of loneliness.”
“In this Jubilee of the Poor, let us be inspired by the witness of the saints who served Christ in the most needy and followed him on the path of humility and self-denial,” the Pope added, citing St. Benedict Joseph Labre. (Yesterday was the final day of the three-day Jubilee of the Poor.)
Following the Mass and his Sunday Angelus address, the Pope shared lunch with 1,300 impoverished people in Paul VI Audience Hall.