Pope Leo XIV Hosts Lunch for the Poor at Castel Gandolfo, Calls for Addressing Root Causes of Poverty

Pope Leo XIV hosted a gathering called "Lunch with the Pope" on July 11 at Borgo Laudato Si', located within the papal gardens of Castel Gandolfo, according to Catholic News Agency. The event was described as a day of hospitality and fraternity bringing together the Holy Father and guests experiencing poverty.

The outlet reports that the pope used the occasion to call on society to work toward eliminating the root causes of poverty and injustice, framing the gathering not merely as charitable relief but as a prompt toward structural concern.

The event draws on a tradition of papal gestures of solidarity with marginalized communities, and the choice of Castel Gandolfo — a historic and symbolic papal residence — gives the gathering a degree of institutional visibility. The timing coincides with ongoing global conversations about economic inequality and the role of faith communities in social welfare.

Those most directly affected include individuals living in poverty who attended the lunch, as well as Catholic institutions and broader civil society that may take cues from papal statements on social teaching. The pope's framing — emphasizing causes rather than symptoms — places the message within the longstanding Catholic tradition of structural analysis in social ethics.

The source item does not include direct quotations from the pope, specific figures on the number of guests, or detail on which causes of poverty were identified. What the pope said precisely, and whether any policy commitments or institutional responses were announced, remains unverified from this report alone.

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