I have exiting news to share. Pope Leo XIV has just issued a powerful, timely new resource to help us in our ministry. It is a letter (technically an “apostolic exhortation”) titled: Dilexi te (“I have loved you”).

I wrote a letter to both seekers and the catechumenate team about this important document that you can see below.  You can copy and adapt these to help anchor your formation firmly in the foundational practices of Christian discipleship outlined in paragraph 75 of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. (If you use the letters outside your parish, please cite Team Initiation as the source.)

Letter to the catechumenate team about Dilexi te

Letter to the seekers about Dilexi te

Here is how you can use these two letters to deepen the conversion journey for both your seekers and your ministers.

1. Using the letter to seekers

The letter to seekers directly introduces Pope Leo’s message to neophytes, inquirers, catechumens, and candidates, framing the conversation around the core message of Dilexi te.

The essential teaching of Dilexi te is that caring for the poor is not merely a consequence of faith, but a prerequisite of faith itself, and an essential aspect of the church’s mission.

When we share this message with seekers, we are reinforcing OCIA 75.2, which instructs catechumens to “grow accustomed to… showing charity to their neighbor even to renunciation of themselves.” This is how we can implement that prophetic message:

• Reframe the encounter: Use Dilexi te to teach seekers that contact with those who are poor, powerless, and suffering is a fundamental way of encountering Jesus and receiving revelation. This goes beyond mere human kindness; it is about recognizing Christ in the marginalized.
• Broaden the definition of poverty: Remind seekers that “the poor” includes those who are socially marginalized, lonely, spiritually poor, or those who lack the means to give a voice to their dignity and abilities. This allows every seeker, regardless of their physical proximity to material poverty, to engage with the document’s call for spiritual poverty and generosity.
• Provide the “so what”: Effective catechesis employs a mystagogical process, which concludes with a “so what?”—for example, asking how their encounter with Christ will change their lives this week. Dilexi te’s call to work actively to solve structural causes of inequality gives seekers concrete direction for applying their new learning in the world.

When we share this message with seekers, we are reinforcing OCIA 75.2, which instructs catechumens to “grow accustomed to… showing charity to their neighbor even to renunciation of themselves.”

2. Using the letter to the catechumenate team

The letter to the catechumenate team shows team members how Dilexi te relates to their mission, specifically focusing on OCIA 75.2 (forming seekers to live in Christian community) and OCIA 75.4 (forming seekers for an apostolic life).

We know that the classroom/lecture model not the most effective way to form Christian disciples. The most effective way is by example. Pope Leo’s letter is a powerful tool to revitalize your team’s commitment to living the foundational steps of Christian life.

• Emphasize lived example: Use the letter to the catechumenate team to stress that the catechumens’ conversion is facilitated by the community’s example of prayer, hope, witness, and especially sharing love. Ministers and sponsors must be a good example of Christian living and discipleship
• Connect charity to mission (apostolic life): Pope Leo’s call for us to commit our lives to the poor is necessary for seekers to live an apostolic life (OCIA 75.4). When your team members embrace the mission to care for the poor, they are modeling how seekers “work actively with others to spread the Gospel and build up the Church by the witness of their lives.”
• Reinforce the apprenticeship model: The core of catechumenate formation is an apprenticeship model, where faith is learned through immersion, participation, and example in the life of the parish. Sharing the message of Dilexi te provides a crucial emphasis on outward witness, showing that the charity instilled must lead to “a progressive change of outlook and morals, [which] must become evident in its social consequences” (OCIA 75.2).

A prophetic challenge for your parish

Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic exhortation is a prophetic challenge to us to ensure our catechesis is suitable for leading seekers to a profound sense of the mystery of salvation in such a way that they become lifelong missionary disciples.

By using the pope’s message and the example letters below, your team can ensure that your parish:

1. Reinforces the dignity of discipleship: It reaffirms that our deep concern for the weakest among us is part of the great Tradition of the church.
2. Focuses on conversion, not just concepts: It reminds us that doctrine is learned more holistically—through immersion, example, and communal life, rather than solely through classroom instruction.
3. Encourages missionary action: It pushes the whole community to move beyond spiritual worldliness—where religious practices are separated from actively helping the poor—and embrace genuine charity.

Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic exhortation is a prophetic challenge to us to ensure our catechesis is suitable for leading seekers to a profound sense of the mystery of salvation in such a way that they become lifelong missionary disciples.

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Letter to the catechumenate team about Dilexi te

Dear Catechumenate Team,

I am writing to let you know that I will be sending the attached letter to all neophytes, inquirers, catechumens, confirmation candidates, and candidates for reception into full communion in our parish. This letter introduces Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te (“I have loved you”).

It is important that we share this document because its core message speaks directly to the foundational Christian disciplines, we are helping the seekers to learn.

Dilexi te and Christian living

The Dlexi te is the first major document of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, emphasizing continuity with Pope Francis. Its essential teaching is that caring for the poor is not merely a consequence of faith, but a prerequisite of faith itself and an essential aspect of the church’s mission.

This focus directly aligns with the fundamental training for Christian life outlined in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), paragraph 75.

Specifically, Dilexi te’s message echoes our teaching around OCIA 75.2, which says that catechumens must “grow accustomed to… showing charity to their neighbor even to renunciation of themselves.”

The call in Dilexi te to encounter Christ in the marginalized, to practice spiritual poverty, and to work actively to solve structural causes of inequality is the concrete expression of this core requirement for discipleship. As we accompany our seekers, we want to help them remember the following:

1. Encountering Christ: Contact with those who are poor, powerless, and suffering is a fundamental way of deepening our encounter with Christ.
2. Lived example: The seekers’ conversion is facilitated by the community’s example of prayer, hope, witness, and especially sharing love. This loving example of the community leads the seekers to “a progressive change of outlook and morals, [which] must become evident in its social consequences” (OCIA 75.2).
3. Apostolic life: This commitment is necessary for our seekers to live an apostolic life of witness (OCIA 75.4). By our example, we show our seekers that our deep concern for the weakest among us is part of the tradition of the church handed down to us by the first apostles.

I don’t expect that most of the seekers will actually read Dilexi te. But if we can read it and take Pope Leo’s words to heart, we can provide a prophetic, timely message to our seekers that reinforces the self-sacrificing love required of all who strive to live as missionary disciples.

Thank you for your dedication to this important ministry.

Sincerely in Christ,

Nick

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Letter to the seekers about Dilexi te

Dear friends in Christ,

I am excited to share with you a special message from Pope Leo XIV. As you continue your journey toward deeper faith—whether you are a new Catholic, or inquiring, or preparing for baptism, or preparing for confirmation, or seeking full communion—Pope Leo’s message is crucial for finding and knowing Christ.

The letter is called an Apostolic Exhortation, titled Dilexi te, which is Latin for ”I have loved you.” Pope Leo begins and ends his message with those words of Jesus to the church. The pope wants you to imagine Christ speaking those very words directly to you.

The last word of Pope Francis and the first word of Pope Leo XIV

This document has an interesting history: it was started by Pope Francis and completed by Pope Leo XIV. In a way, it is the ”last word” of Pope Francis and the “first word” of Pope Leo, emphasizing a strong continuity between their papacies. Pope Leo insists that every Christian must recognize the close connection between Christ’s love and the call to care for the poor. We are walking the same path.

Why our faith journey starts with the poor

The core message of Dilexi te is simple: caring for the poor is not just a nice thing to do, it is a prerequisite of faith itself. If we truly love God, we must love the poor. The commitment to the poor is an essential aspect of the mission of the church.

When we talk about “the poor,” we are not just talking about those who have no money. Pope Leo says that poverty also includes those who are socially marginalized, lonely, spiritually poor, and those who lack the means to give a voice to their dignity and abilities.

Pope Leo tells us that our deep concern for the weakest among us is part of the great Tradition of the church, stretching back through history, all the way to the first disciples.

Concrete takeaways for your life in Christ

As you continue to live as a new Catholic or as you prepare to embark on a journey of deeper faith, Pope Leo has some clear guidance on where to focus your energy:

1. The poor hold the true gospel. ”The poor are not there by chance or by blind and cruel fate,” wrote Pope Leo. “Nor, for most of them, is poverty a choice.” The pope tells us that the poorest among us are “teachers of the gospel.” In the poor, we see Christ revealed in their suffering flesh. Pope Leo reminds us of what Jesus said: “Just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). An important point here is that, according to the pope, Jesus is not merely asking us to be kind to the poor. It is a revelation of who God is. Knowing and loving the poor is a fundamental way of encountering Jesus in our lives today.
2. Go out and listen. We know that we don’t know everything. And so, when we go out to the poor, we have to go with listening ears. Pope Leo says, “Their experience of poverty gives them the ability to recognize aspects of reality that others cannot see.” If we realize that poor have something to teach us, we will be more clearly acting as disciples. Pope Leo is convinced that truly opening our ears to the poor will renew both the church and society “if we can only set ourselves free of our self-centeredness.”
3. Don’t just talk—act. We must do more than merely talk about charity and commit to concrete actions that dismantle oppressive structures. Pope Leo cites Pope Benedict XVI who said that hunger exists not because there is a shortage of food. Rather, there is a shortage of desire to change structures that keep people hungry. “What is missing,” said Pope Benedict, “is a network of economic institutions capable of guaranteeing regular access to sufficient food and water for nutritional needs.”  Our faith in Christ demands that we work toward creating such networks.

Pope Leo’s final words in his letter are addressed directly to you and me:

“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).”

I hope Pope Leo’s words inspire you as much as they do me. Each of you is a revelation of Jesus and a true face of Christ to the world.

Sincerely in Christ,

Nick