World Day of the Poor 2026: Pope Leo XIV’s Message and the Canossian Charism
On November 15, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Church celebrates the 10th World Day of the Poor under the theme taken from Psalm 14:6: “The Lord is the refuge of the poor.” In his message, Pope Leo XIV recalls that today the poor are the forgotten and the marginalized, deprived of a voice and a face as well as of bread. He also warns that the digital environment strengthens prejudice against them and thickens the curtain of indifference that surrounds their cause.
In response, the Pope proclaims good news. God is a refuge for the poor, and he is so in Jesus Christ, who shares human poverty all the way to the cross. For this reason we Christians, too, are called to become poor with Christ and, in turn, to become a refuge for others. The message offers us an examination of conscience: whether we go to where the poor are, whether we listen to their hopes, whether we speak their names with tenderness. And it reminds us, with Saint Francis of Assisi, that joy lies in putting ourselves in the place of the poor and listening to them, rather than merely talking about them.
A Message That Resonates in the Canossian Heart
These words sound familiar to those who know Saint Magdalene of Canossa (1774–1835). Born into a noble family in Verona, in 1808 she left the family palace for good to begin serving those most in need in the poorest district of the city. Her path grew out of letting herself be loved by Jesus Crucified in order to give herself entirely to her brothers and sisters afflicted by various forms of poverty.
From this comes the charism of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, which shares several points of contact with the Pope’s message:
- From the Crucified to the poor. The Pope shows us a God who shares human poverty all the way to the cross. Magdalene contemplated this same love and drew from it the strength to serve. For her, looking at Christ Crucified and looking at the poor are one and the same gesture.
- Leaving the palace. The Pope’s invitation to go to where the poor are is the path Magdalene walked when she left her home for the humblest district of Verona.
- Restoring voice and face. Where there are people without a voice or a name, education and catechesis are a form of charity. Magdalene and her companions served the poor through the school of charity, which seeks the integral growth of the person, and through catechesis. In this way the poor recover their dignity and their place.
- The poor who become a refuge. The message reminds us that those who have known poverty become sensitive to solidarity and can themselves become a refuge for others. In the Canossian family, those who serve and those who are served recognize one another as brothers and sisters.
All of this is contained in the wish Magdalene left to her daughters: “Above all, make Jesus known!” Today, as then, this good news reaches the poor through concrete gestures of closeness.
A Question for This Day
The Pope asks whether we are a sign of a God who is a refuge for the poor. Perhaps today the answer will be a small one: a door opened, a visit, a name spoken with affection. May the charity of Christ, which moved Saint Magdalene, set us on our way as well.
📖 Read Pope Leo XIV’s complete message:
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/messages/poor/documents/20260613-messaggio-giornata-poveri.html