The first papal document signed by Leo XIV will be an apostolic exhortation, will have poverty as its theme, and is expected to be published on Oct. 9, the feast day of St. John Henry Newman. 

Despite rumors that the document would be published instead on Oct. 4, Vatican sources, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Register that the document will instead be published on the Friday following the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

A review of the Holy See Press Office bulletin reveals that seven private audiences were granted recently by the Pope to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. While the prefect regularly visits the Pope, Cardinal Fernández’s meetings have  been more frequent than usual, indicating to some Vatican watchers that the release of a papal document was imminent. 

The document on the poor was one of the “suspended” documents left in progress at the time of Pope Francis’ death. Its text had initially been entrusted to Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, for a preliminary draft. 

By deciding to move forward with its publication,  Leo XIV is demonstrating his desire to proceed in continuity with his predecessor’s  legacy. However, he called for a thorough revision of the text, demonstrating that he also intends to shape his own pontificate right from the outset.

The exhortation on the poor would be the second example of a “four-handed papal document” in recent history. Pope Francis, newly elected in 2013, decided to publish the encyclical Lumen Fidei, which had been almost entirely prepared by his predecessor Benedict XVI.

The apostolic exhortation would not replace Leo XIV’s first encyclical, which is also in progress. Little is known about this document, which is entirely in the Pope’s hands.

 

Other ‘Suspended’ Documents

It remains to be seen what will happen to other “suspended” documents currently being processed by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. These are not papal documents, but instead documents initiated under Pope Francis that require papal approval for publication.

On July 3, Cardinal Fernández announced his dicastery would soon publish a document on “various Marian themes,” intended as a follow-up to the new norms on supernatural phenomena published in May 2024.

In January, the cardinal announced that the dicastery was preparing documents on the value of monogamy, slavery throughout history and various forms of slavery today, the role of women in the Church, and some Mariological issues. Aside from the July 3 announcement, nothing has been said subsequently about the status of these documents.