Letter from the PGI to His Holiness Leo XIV on the occasion of the beginning of his pontificate
Paris, 8 May 2025
Your Holiness Leo XIV,
On behalf of the International Confederation of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, and with deep respect and reverence, I wish to offer you our heartfelt congratulations on your election as the new Pope.
We pray that your pontificate may be marked by wisdom, peace, and love, and that your leadership may inspire the global community to continue spreading the Gospel and doing good, in the spirit of our Master.
The mission of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is to serve our most vulnerable brothers and sisters with closeness and compassion, alleviating both material and spiritual poverty, promoting fraternal love, evangelisation, and a deep commitment to social justice—principles ardently upheld by our principal founder, the Blessed Frédéric Ozanam, a forerunner of the Church’s social doctrine, which Pope Leo XIII would later develop in the encyclical Rerum Novarum.
We would be deeply honoured to count on your support in our Vincentian mission, as committed Catholics faithful to the Magisterium of the Church.
I humbly ask your blessing upon the members of the Conferences of Saint Vincent de Paul and upon those whom we serve.
May the Lord guide you and pour forth abundant graces upon your pontificate.
In the peace of Christ, your devoted servant,
Juan Manuel B. Gómez
XVII Presidente General