Pope Leo XIV says Your "hidden work, unseen...rewarded only by God, and where it is deeply gratifying to discover, in the face of each person, Jesus” FULL TEXT to Organization for the Disabled

Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Marsodeto Federation—an organization that supports people with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy in Toledo, Spain, in the Vatican on the morning of August 24.
Founded in 1980, the group travelled to Rome on a pilgrimage to mark 45 years of the institution’s mission.FULL TEXT  speech of Pope Leo XIV
Your Excellency, distinguished authorities,
dear brothers and sisters,

It is a great joy to be able to welcome you this morning, during your pilgrimage to the See of Peter, to give thanks to God for the fruitfulness of your institution's forty-five years. I join in this special celebration and ask the Lord to continue to bless the work you carry out.

An arduous task, undoubtedly; with much hidden work, unseen by anyone and rewarded only by God, and where it is deeply gratifying to discover, in the face of each person, Jesus Christ himself. With your commitment, you can bear witness, in a privileged way, to what we hear in the Gospel: "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" ( Mt 25:40). Knowing how to recognize, in the lives of the weakest and most vulnerable, the gaze of Christ who challenges us, is something that helps us grow as a human and Christian society.

Many values ​​characterize your approach to the reality of people with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy: solidarity, the defense of human dignity, and full inclusion. Thanks to all this, you have also managed to gain the support of a large institutional representation, which is with you here today, thus testifying to your commitment to your work and to the common good.

Looking back, we give thanks to God for the inspiration of Father Marcelino Casas Puente, who, more than forty years ago, began what then seemed like a dream and which today we see as a reality: that no family with a person with an intellectual disability would be left abandoned.

Today this Federation can be proud of reaching so many people, making reality what I had the opportunity to recall during my recent visit to Spain : “The love of Christ impels us towards our brothers (cf. 2 Cor 5:14) and the charity and solicitude with which we respond to his impulses are the proof of our faith” ( Visit to the workers and those assisted by the social project “Cedia 24 Horas” , 6 June 2026).

Dear brothers and sisters, I entrust you to the maternal protection of Mary Most Holy, so that she may continually accompany you in your mission. May she encourage you in times of greatest difficulty and help you always turn your gaze to the Lord, so that your Federation may continue to be an authentic ecclesial and social reference point.

God bless you. Thank you.
______________________________________

L'Osservatore Romano , Daily Edition, Year CLXVI n. 191, Monday, August 24, 2026, p. 7.

Translated from https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2026/08/24/0664/01232.html