At the beginning of October, Pope Leo XIV delivered a series of speeches that marked a significant step in his pontificate. His gestures and words focused on three distinct areas—the elderly, the Pontifical Swiss Guard, and the written Magisterium—with a common message: strengthening human dignity, community unity, and the spiritual guidance of the Church in times of change.

Pastoral Care for the Elderly: “Let No One Feel Useless”

During the Second International Congress on the Pastoral Care of the Elderly, held on October 3 and 4 in Rome, the Pope emphasized the need to recognize the value of old age as a meaningful stage of life, not a social burden. “May no elderly person be abandoned, may no one feel useless,” he said, noting that longevity constitutes “a gift for humanity.”

Leo XIV invited society and the Church to cultivate a culture of tenderness and acceptance toward the elderly, remembering that they are bearers of memory and wisdom. In his remarks, he urged us to counteract any form of marginalization and promote spaces where the elderly can continue to contribute their experience.

Pontifical Swiss Guard: service, unity and mission

That same day, at the Vatican, the Pope welcomed the new recruits of the Pontifical Swiss Guard for their swearing-in. In a speech to the young soldiers and their families, he encouraged them to live their service not only as a task of protection and security, but as a true witness of faith and fraternity.

“Be missionaries of hope and cultivators of unity,” exhorted Leo XIV, emphasizing that cohesion within the Body is also a sign for the Roman Curia and for the entire ecclesial community. He also recalled the current challenges facing Christians, including the digital revolution, artificial intelligence, and social tensions, and invited us to discern these changes in the light of the Gospel.

The Pope described the Swiss Guard as a “living message” that, beyond its historical and ceremonial role, can be an instrument of evangelization and a bridge of universal values ​​such as solidarity, charity, and loyalty.

The apostolic exhortation Dilexi te

A day later, on October 4, Leo XIV signed his first apostolic exhortation, entitled Dilexi te (“I have loved you”), in the private library of the Apostolic Palace. The ceremony took place in the presence of Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute for General Affairs at the Secretariat of State.

The document, which will be officially presented on October 9 in the Holy See Press Office, constitutes the first major magisterial text of the current pontificate. Although the full contents have not yet been released, the title itself refers to the centrality of love in the Christian message and is expected to outline programmatic lines of pastoral guidance for the universal Church.

A single common thread

Closeness to the elderly, encouragement to the Swiss Guard, and the signing of Dilexi are presented as distinct gestures, but they all converge in a pastoral vision where fragility, service, and doctrine are intertwined.

The Pope thus proposes a Church that does not abandon the most vulnerable, that strengthens the cohesion of its institutions, and that is nourished by a written magisterium capable of guiding the challenges of contemporary times. In these initial gestures of October, Leo XIV seems to clearly outline the axes of his pontificate: tenderness, unity, and hope.