Leo XIV: Pray That Wealth Serves the Common Good
November’s intention links material goods to solidarity and to the defense of life, urging hearts free of selfishness toward those with less.
Pope Leo XIV has asked the faithful to pray throughout November 2026 for the proper use of wealth so that it remains at the service of the common good and in solidarity with those who have less, without yielding to the temptation of selfishness.
The intention, released for the month beginning Sunday, November 1, places material goods squarely within a moral and spiritual frame: wealth is not condemned, but ordered to the dignity of persons and the needs of the poor.
Wealth, Solidarity, and Life
The call is framed not only as a matter of social justice but as a life issue. Global disparities in health outcomes illustrate the stakes. People in poorer regions of the world have lower life expectancy; those born in the country with the highest life expectancy live on average 33 years longer than those born in the nation with the lowest. Newborns in the poorest countries are up to 50 times more likely to die than those in higher-income nations.
Such figures give concrete weight to the Pope’s repeated insistence that extreme poverty and concentrated riches are not inevitable. In April 2026 he noted on social media that hundreds of millions of people across the planet live in extreme poverty, while disproportionate wealth remains in the hands of a few. In a further message on April 10, 2026, he stated that the root of inequality is not a lack of resources but the need to address solvable problems of fairer distribution, carried out with moral sense and honesty.
Gospel Challenge and Prayer
Reflection on the intention has also drawn on Mark 10. Author and parish renewal leader Tom Cocoran has observed that Jesus “offers a huge challenge, but it does not come from a place of envy or contempt,” and “challenges us to use our wealth and resources for greater good because he loves us and is for us.”
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network offers a prayer asking God to grant hearts that see others as He sees them and to make the faithful “instruments of Your providence and compassion.”
For Catholics, the November prayer is thus both petition and examination of conscience: that goods received be placed, with honesty and charity, at the service of the common good and of those Christ calls the least of His brothers and sisters.