Vatican newspaper focuses on poverty

October 20, 2025

L’Osservatore Romano devoted seven articles to poverty in its October 17 edition.

In “Vicini agli invisibili“ [Close to the invisible], the edition’s most prominent front-page article, the newspaper stated that “the love of Jesus Christ is incarnated in love for the poor, the least, the invisible in society. The heart of the apostolic exhortation Dilexi te, the first of Pope Leo XIV, can be found in the strong connection between the love of Christ and his call to draw us close to the poor. The centrality of love for the poor is, in fact, at the heart of the Gospel.”

The newspaper noted that the day was the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and that 880 million live in extreme poverty, according to World Bank data.

The newspaper’s six other articles on the theme were

• L’arduo percorso per lo sradicamento della povertà a livello globale [The arduous path to eradicating poverty globally] by Andrea Walton
• Senza diritti nelle baraccopoli africane [Without rights in African slums] by Fabrizio Floris
• Un sorriso e un piatto di riso [A smile and a plate of rice] by Paolo Affatato
• L’esperienza di Giuseppe Tonello, da 55 anni missionario in Ecuador [The experience of Giuseppe Tonello, a 55-year missionary in Ecuador] by Igor Traboni
• L’opera multiforme dei frati minori a Giuba [The multifaceted work of the Friars Minor in Juba] by Enrico Casale
• In Italia oltre 5,7 milioni di persone in povertà assoluta [Over 5.7 million people in absolute poverty in Italy]

 

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Further information:

• Vicini agli invisibili (L'Osservatore Romano, 10/17/25)