Dilexi Te, “I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9), is the title of Pope Leo XIV’s first Apostolic Exhortation. The text was begun by Pope Francis, in continuity with Dilexit nos, and his successor chose to carry this project forward to show, as Pope Francis wished, the connection between faith and service to the most vulnerable, as well as the inseparable bond between Christ’s love and His call to be close to the poor.
The document calls for both personal and structural change. It recognizes poverty in all its dimensions (material, moral, social, spiritual, and cultural). It denounces inequality as the root of many problems, along with the “structures of sin” and “an economy that kills” because it discards the weak and measures life only by productivity. Finally, it invites us to see the poor not as a problem but as “teachers of the Gospel,” called to teach us through their lives and their wisdom.
The exhortation of Pope Leo XIV does not reach us as a distant voice; it resonates with the familiar example of our Foundress. In it, we recognize a prophetic echo of Mother Adele’s life and mission.
The call to action in Dilexit Te echoes the missionary desire that burned within Mother Adele: “Our most ardent desire must be that he will receive all the glory and all the hearts he deserves. All God’s, all for God” (306.3). For her, this love was not an abstract feeling but a driving force that took shape in concrete actions. She showed this from a young age through her small catechism school for the children of farm workers, and later through her dedication to teaching “poor women” (346.10).
Her personal experience, shaped by the French Revolution, exile, and economic hardship, formed her in a simple and detached way of life. Although she came from a noble family, those circumstances taught her to see the world from a place of fragility and allowed her to understand deeply the situation of those most in need. This lived poverty did not weaken her; instead, it became the fertile ground for her apostolic mission.
The exhortation calls us to live a genuine spirit of poverty, a spirit that Mother Adele embodied with passion. Her frequent exclamation, “Long live holy poverty!” was not just a slogan, but a conviction deeply rooted in complete trust in Providence, especially in times of difficulty.
She understood the radical nature of this vow, reflecting in a way that challenges us: “Our vow would be a mere sham if we refused to feel any of its effects” (696.2). This commitment was expressed in constant solidarity, sharing the Institute’s resources even in times of the greatest financial difficulty, as she wrote in the same letter of December 12, 1826: “The Institute is riddled with debts… However, the poor must always be given something, much if we have much and little if we have but little.”
May the reading of this exhortation be for us an occasion for personal and communal renewal, living a poverty that humanizes, frees, and cares for others, just as our Founders did, following Mary’s example.