Sunday, November 16, 2025, is the World Day of the Poor, a day established by Pope Francis in 2017 for Catholics to “reflect on how poverty is at the very heart of the Gospel.”
Pope Leo XIV has declared the theme for this, the ninth World Day of the Poor, to be “You are my hope”. The theme is taken from the Psalmist’s cry “You, O Lord, are my hope” (Ps 71:5).
In his message for this World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo urges us to recognise those experiencing poverty as “our beloved brothers and sisters, for by their lives, their words and their wisdom, they put us in contact with the truth of the Gospel” and “challenge us to find novel ways of living out the Gospel today”. He is calling for practical outcomes through “the development of policies aimed at combatting forms of poverty both old and new, as well as implementing new initiatives to support and assist the poorest of the poor”, citing the examples of Labor, education, housing and health care.
- Read Pope Leo’s message in full here
- View the video on the importance of the message (4:34)
