At lunch with the poor, Pope Leo XIV calls on society to eliminate the causes of poverty, injustice

Pope Leo XIV on July 11 expressed a “hunger for justice [and] authentic charity” while attending a lunch with poor people at Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome.

“[I have] a hunger for a Church that truly knows how to open its doors and receive everyone — where there is love for all and no one is an enemy, where we all know how to live out reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace,” the pope told the crowd at the lunch, hosted in the gardens of the Borgo Laudato Si’.

Pope Leo XIV dines with guests during a lunch for poor people at Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome, July 11, 2026. The event was the second lunch the pope has hosted with those facing poverty since the beginning of his pontificate. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Leo pointed out that the historic papal title of “pontiff” means “a builder of bridges.”

“Today, we too wish to build a bridge with all of you, with your families, and with the society in which we want to live — but to live with justice, to live where the causes of poverty can be eliminated, where the causes of the injustices that still exist in our world can be removed,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV and guests sit for lunch at Castel Gandolfo outside…