Pope Leo XIV received a delegation from the Catholic Extension Society at the Vatican on Monday, a U.S. missionary organization dedicated to supporting poor and isolated Catholic communities. He used the meeting to stress the importance of strengthening peripheral parishes and providing pastoral accompaniment to immigrant families.
During his address, the Pontiff praised the institution’s work over more than a century in disadvantaged areas of the United States and in territories such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, insisting that the Church must remain present wherever material and spiritual needs exist.
“It is imperative that our brothers and sisters experience the warmth of a community marked by the presence of Christ,” Leo XIV told the organization’s members gathered in the Apostolic Palace.
The Pope insists on a Church close to the peripheries
The meeting once again highlighted one of the most visible traits of the beginning of Leo XIV’s pontificate: his insistence on a Church close to social and geographical peripheries.
The Pope recalled that the mission of the Catholic Extension Society was born more than 120 years ago with the goal of bringing the sacraments and the life of the Church to remote communities in the United States, a task that, he said, remains necessary today.
Leo XIV especially praised the organization’s support for poor Catholic communities and immigrant families at a time when the migration issue continues to be one of the major social and political debates in the United States.
“Love for the poor” as a sign of Christian authenticity
In his remarks, the Pontiff also linked charity toward the most needy with the authenticity of the Christian faith.
“Love for the poor can be understood as the evangelical mark of a Church faithful to the heart of God,” he said, citing his document Dilexi Te.
The Pope insisted that the first Christian communities were distinguished precisely by caring for the poor and relieving the suffering of those in need.
In his view, Catholic communities should not only respond to immediate material needs but also become places where people can experience “the joy of a new life in Christ.”
Cuba, Puerto Rico and immigration
Leo XIV devoted a significant part of his address to highlighting the organization’s work in Cuba and Puerto Rico, describing it as “a beautiful expression of the universality of the Church.”
The Pontiff also encouraged continued pastoral care for disadvantaged people and immigrant families in U.S. territory.
Catholic communities and vocations
At another point in the speech, Leo XIV underlined the importance of building vibrant and solid Catholic communities, asserting that they are the soil in which new priestly and religious vocations can take root and begin to grow.
“These communities are the good soil in which new vocations to the priesthood and religious life can take root and begin to grow,” he said.
The meeting concluded with the apostolic blessing of the Pontiff to all members and benefactors of the Catholic Extension Society.