4 American saints whose work inspired Pope Leo in “Dilexi Te”

Pope Leo XIV released his first apostolic exhortation on Thursday, October 9. Titled Dilexi Te, meaning "I have loved you," it was started by Pope Francis prior to his illness and death in April. The apostolic exhortation is centered on the treatment of the poor, and Pope Leo relies heavily on the example of the saints in his writing.

Pope Leo is the first pope from the United States, and is the second consecutive pope from the "New World."

Here are four saints from the Americas who got special mention in Dilexi Te for their work with the poor.

St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, known as "Mother Cabrini," was named by Pope Leo as one of "two great saints who distinguished themselves in the pastoral care of migrants."

Cabrini, an immigrant herself, was born in Italy but moved to the United States of America to serve the poor immigrant communities in New York City and beyond, said Pope Leo. She was naturalized as a citizen and was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized. In 1950, Cabrini was named the "Patroness of All Migrants."

Quoting St. Pope John Paul II, Dilexi Te described Cabrini as someone "armed with remarkable boldness" who "started schools, hospitals and orphanages from nothing for the masses of the poor who ventured into the new world in search of work."

These people, noted Dilexi Te, largely did not speak English and did not have "the wherewithal to find a respectable place in American society," and were "often victims of the unscrupulous."

Pope Leo compared the evangelical work of St. Dulce Lopes Pontes, who is known as "St. Dulce of the Poor" and "the good angel of Bahia," to Mother Teresa, but "with Brazilian characteristics." Pontes, who was canonized in 2019, was the first Brazilian female saint.

"Sister Dulce responded to precariousness with creativity, obstacles with tenderness, and need with unshakeable faith. She began by taking in the sick in a chicken coop and from there founded one of the largest social services in the country," said Pope Leo.

Pontes worked with thousands of people a day, "without ever losing her gentleness, making herself poor with the poor for the love of the Poorest One," said Dilexi Te.

"She lived with little, prayed fervently and served with joy. Her faith did not distance her from the world, but drew her even more deeply into the pain of the least among us," he said.

St. Katharine Drexel, a woman from Philadelphia who was born into considerable wealth, went into religious life as a young woman. Joining the Sisters of Mercy, she would eventually go on to found the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious order that ministered to Black and Indigenous people.

In Dilexi Te, Pope Leo XIV lists Drexel among other saints who served the most underprivileged groups in their homelands.

These saints, said Pope Leo, "in their own way discovered that the poorest are not only objects of our compassion, but teachers of the Gospel."

"It is not a question of 'bringing' God to them, but of encountering him among them. All of these examples teach us that serving the poor is not a gesture to be made 'from above,' but an encounter between equals, where Christ is revealed and adored," he said.

St. Oscar Romero, who was the archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador, when he was assassinated on March 24, 1980, served as a "powerful witness and an inspiration for the Church," said Pope Leo.

"He had made his own the plight of the vast majority of his flock and made them the center of his pastoral vision," he said.

"In the immediate post-conciliar period, in almost all Latin American countries, there was a strong sense of the Church’s need to identify with the poor and to participate actively in securing their freedom," said Pope Leo, something that was exemplified in St. Oscar Romero's work.