World Day for the Poor

Pope Francis established World Day for the Poor in 2016.
Pope Francis (pictured during the Divine Mercy Sunday Mass with Monsignor Diego Giovanni Ravelli) established World Day for the Poor in 2016.

This November, the Catholic Church will commemorate World Day for the Poor, an observance established by Pope Francis six years ago to put the care and service of others into the hearts and minds of Catholics around the world.

For each year’s World Day for the Poor, the Holy Father selects a theme — and this year he chose “For Your Sake, Christ Became Poor.”

Pope Francis began his message to the universal Church by reminding us of 2 Corinthians 8:9, where the Apostle Paul encouraged his readers to show humility and solidarity toward their brothers and sisters in need, just as Christ did for each of us.

More than 2,000 years after St. Paul’s words were written, that message is as timely as ever and inspires all of us at Cross Catholic Outreach to stand in solidarity with the poor through the Corporal Works of Mercy.