On Thursday, October 9, 2025, Pope Leo XIV published Dilexi te, (“I have loved you.”), the first apostolic exhortation of his pontificate and one that has been acclaimed universally as ‘showing the face of the church.”
Assuming the role of the face of any institution or product is a considerable challenge. In the world of branding and promotion, recognizable faces and impeccable reputations are frequently at the forefront. For instance, Mickey and Minnie Mouse are the icons of Disney, Steve Jobs represented Apple, Tiger Woods was once the face of Nike, Paige Bueckers for UCONN, and George Clooney is associated with Nespresso, and Jennifer Aniston is synonymous with Aveeno. Similarly, Hall of Fame footballers, Eli and Peyton Manning, have become popular faces for various brands. These examples highlight the star power and promotional quality often linked to celebrity and success. However, the concept of ‘showing the face of the Church’ in Dilexi te transcends celebrity. It is about embodying the truth and mission the Church is called to live, as expressed in the words of the exhortation.
Here are 12 quotes from Dilexi te to give a sense of what the document contains:
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- “Christian love breaks down every barrier, brings close those who were distant, unites strangers, and reconciles enemies … Through your work, your efforts to change unjust social structures or your simple, heartfelt gesture of closeness and support, the poor will come to realize that Jesus’ words are addressed personally to each of them: “I have loved you (Rev 3:9).”
- “This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation: contact with those who are lowly and powerless is a fundamental way of encountering the Lord of history. In the poor, he continues to speak to us.”
- “On the wounded faces of the poor, we see the suffering of the innocent and, therefore, the suffering of Christ himself.”
- “I am convinced that the preferential choice for the poor is a source of extraordinary renewal both for the Church and for society, if we can only set ourselves free of our self-centeredness and open our ears to their cry.”
- “A few years ago, the photo of a lifeless child lying on a Mediterranean beach caused an uproar; unfortunately, apart from some momentary outcry, similar events are becoming increasingly irrelevant and seen as marginal newsitems.”
- “Works of mercy are recommended as a sign of the authenticity of worship, which, while giving praise to God, has the task of opening us to the transformation that the Spirit can bring about in us, so that we may all become an image of Christ and his mercy towards the weakest. In this sense, our relationship with the Lord, expressed in worship, also aims to free us from the risk of living our relationships according to a logic of calculation and self-interest.”
- “The Almighty will not be outdone in generosity to those who serve the people most in need: the greater the love for the poor, the greater the reward from God.”
- “The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking. Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community.”
- “There is no shortage of theories attempting to justify the present state of affairs or to explain that economic thinking requires us to wait for invisible market forces to resolve everything. Nevertheless, the dignity of every human person must be respected today, not tomorrow, and the extreme poverty of all those to whom this dignity is denied should constantly weigh upon our consciences.”
- “Growing up in precarious circumstances, learning to survive in the most adverse conditions, trusting in God with the assurance that no one else takes them seriously, and helping one another in the darkest moments, the poor have learned many things that they keep hidden in their hearts. Those of us who have not had similar experiences of living this way certainly have much to gain from the source of wisdom that is the experience of the poor.”
- “Our love and our deepest convictions need to be continually cultivated, and we do so through our concrete actions. Remaining in the realm of ideas and theories, while failing to give them expression through frequent and practical acts of charity, will eventually cause even our most cherished hopes and aspirations to weaken and fade away.”
- “Let me state once again that the most important way to help the disadvantaged is to assist them in finding a good job, so that they can lead a more dignified life by developing their abilities and contributing their fair share. … On the other hand, where this is not possible, we cannot risk abandoning others to the fate of lacking the necessities for a dignified life. Consequently, almsgiving remains, for the time being, a necessary means of contact, encounter and empathy with those less fortunate.”
The Pillar, an American news and investigative journalism website focusing on the Catholic Church, spoke with bishops and cardinals around the world, for their first public reactions to Dilexi te. I’m listing a few of those responses so that we might get a sense of what they think about this ‘face.’
Cardinal Jaime Spengler - Archbishop of Porto Alegre, Brazil, and president of CELAM, the episcopal council of Latin America
Human existence today, marked by productivity and consumption, is absorbed by activity. Even free time becomes something functional within production. Without the recognition and conditions necessary for rest, an ideology is imposed that reduces human beings to a function. The acceleration of life gets us used to seeing and judging what is truly at stake in a partial, if not erroneous, way. [We are called to see] the poverty of those who have no rights, no place, no freedom; of those who do not have the means to give voice to their dignity and their abilities; of those who experience material, moral, spiritual, cultural, and human poverty in their daily lives!
Recognizing and being willing to welcome with respect all those who are wounded and deprived of their dignity, freedom, and identity is an ethical imperative, a call to conscience, particularly for Christians.
To carry out this mission, [the pope] calls us to move from the world of ideas and discussions to concrete actions and gestures, uniting the best forces of society for this purpose. The commitment to the common good of society and the promotion of the weakest and most disadvantaged commits every man and woman of good will.
Cardinal Stephen Brislin - Archbishop of Johannesburg, South Africa…
Part of its intention is to shake those in a bubble of luxury and who live an elitist lifestyle disconnected and unconcerned about the vulnerability and suffering of others, or who even treat others as a “throwaway” commodity. The appeal is to live the teachings of the Gospel in terms of respect of human dignity, equality and solidarity.
It is a document that challenges not only personal lifestyles but, as did Pope Francis, denounces the dictatorship of an economy that favours the wealthy. It is a document that should make us question the status quo we so easily take for granted and to be a neighbour to the weak and vulnerable following the example of the Good Samaritan.
Archbishop Jesús González de Zárate - Archbishop of Valencia, Venezuela, and president of the Venezuelan bishops’ conference…
What was expressed in No. 120 of the exhortation immediately caught my attention: “By its very nature, Christian love is prophetic: it works miracles and knows no limits. It makes what was apparently impossible happen. Love is above all a way of looking at life and a way of living it. A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today.”
Today, in America, the church exists in a bubble of luxury and is a participant in an economy that grossly favors the rich and ignores the widening gaps of income and wealth inequality. Its face, as shown by MAGA Christianity, promotes a politics of retribution and distain for the poor and vulnerable. In a recent article by David French, the New York Times’ writer on law and culture, Something Is Stirring in Christian America and Its Making me Nervous, (NYT, October 16, 2025) French talks about the need for a religious revival in America rather than the revolution that is taking place within MAGA-world. He draws attention to The Book of Galatians and the Apostle Paul’s warning about contrasting fruits of the spirit. French writes:
In the Book of Galatians,( Chapter 5) Paul contrasts the fruit of the spirit with what he called the “acts of the flesh,” the sins that can destroy the soul. Those sins include the very characteristics that mark America’s religious revolution: “hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions.”
The fruit of the spirit — “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” — in contrast, are present when Christ is present. This is the fruit of a real revival.
The face of the church must bear these characteristics for us to be the church that the world needs today, a church that sets no limits to love and that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women, especially the poor, to love.
“Showing the face of the church” requires the we reveal a profound call to move beyond mere words and ideas, urging Christians everywhere to embrace practical compassion and solidarity with those marginalized by society. A genuine faith demands standing up for justice, promoting dignity, and offering unconditional love to all, especially those most in need. Their perspectives, as Dilexi te makes clear, challenge us to re-examine our priorities and to ensure that the Church's witness is rooted in an authentic, self-giving love that transforms both individuals and communities.
Blessings to all!