Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we join the universal Church in observing the World Day of the Poor on November 16, 2025, we are called to renew our awareness of those who live in poverty — in body, mind, or spirit — and to recognize in each of them the face of Christ. Every person who struggles with material need, loneliness, or exclusion, is a beloved child of God, deserving of dignity, compassion, and hope.
In his recent exhortation, Dilexi Te — “I Have Loved You” — Pope Leo reminds us that our love for Christ is inseparable from our love for the poor. The Holy Father writes that “the poor have much to teach us about the Gospel and its demands (n.109).” Their courage, faith, and perseverance reveal to us the living presence of Christ and invite us to a deeper conversion of heart.
Poverty is not always visible. While it is easy to identify those who lack food, housing, or employment, the challenge is to also recognize it in those who suffer from isolation, anxiety, and despair. The Holy Father’s words in Dilexi Te challenge us to respond to every form of poverty —both through acts of charity as well as our ongoing commitment to justice and mercy. Together, we are called to build communities where every person is valued, where hope is restored, and where the love of Christ is made visible.
On this World Day of the Poor, I invite you to join me in taking a simple, prayerful step toward encounter: listen to someone who is struggling, volunteer through your parish or a local ministry that helps those who are hungry and hurting, and pray that God will open our hearts to genuine solidarity with those in need.
May this observance renew in all of us the desire to be a Church that loves as Christ loves — a Church that walks with the poor, learns from them, and serves them with humility and compassion.
I am grateful for your witness to the Gospel and for your service to those in need. May God bless you and all those you help in Christ’s name. Be assured of my continuing prayers for you and please remember me in yours. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the poor and our Mother, help us grow in our care for those most in need.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior
Bishop of Harrisburg