Address of the Holy Father

Meeting with five WFP representatives from other countries

Impromptu Greeting Outside

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Address of the Holy Father

Distinguished Authorities,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank Her Excellency Mrs Cindy McCain for her kind invitation to address this annual meeting of the Executive Board of the United Nations World Food Programme. I greet in particular Mr Carl Skau, Acting Executive Director, and Her Excellency Mrs Carla Barroso Carneiro, President of this important assembly. I extend my greetings to the Representatives of the Member States, the distinguished guests at this meeting and the staff of this intergovernmental institution, dedicated to saving lives in emergency situations and providing food assistance amid conflicts and natural disasters. Your institution’s commitment resonates profoundly with the Catholic Church’s mission to uphold human dignity and to foster fraternity, rooted in the Gospel’s call to love our neighbor (cf. Mk 12:31). Together, we share the urgent task of confronting hunger and malnutrition, while also tackling the underlying structural causes that sustain them. To meet this task effectively, we must examine the challenges before us, their underlying causes and the paths toward lasting solutions.

Today, crises have evolved from isolated events into persistent realities, marked by prolonged conflicts, chronic food insecurity, economic volatility and growing climate vulnerabilities. This raises a fundamental question: what configuration of the global order is capable of producing, reproducing and, at times, normalizing such conditions? The issue is no longer limited to how to intervene; rather, it extends to understanding why the system constantly produces the very problems it is then forced to correct.

The international order has become increasingly fragmented, arising in part from the crisis of the multilateral system. As I noted recently in the Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas: “the institutions established to safeguard the concept of a common future for all peoples and a global common good appear to have been weakened” (201). In the absence of a shared ethical horizon capable of sustaining genuine cooperation, the international system has shifted from multilateralism toward “a disorderly and conflict-ridden multipolarism with a prevailing sense of mistrust” (ibid.). Consequently, States have increasingly allocated their resources towards national security, economic growth and domestic stability, disregarding the close link between these issues and multilateral cooperation.

This trend reveals a striking paradox: unprecedented global productive capacity exists alongside expanding zones of extreme vulnerability. The same forces that drive economic growth often exacerbate exclusion and marginalization. Although alleviating human suffering is widely recognized as essential in principle, humanitarian concerns increasingly risk being relegated to a secondary place among international priorities.

It is precisely within the gap between acknowledgement in principle and prioritization in practice that we witness the progressive bureaucratization of solidarity alongside the quiet commodification of human life. On one hand, humanitarian action is increasingly burdened by bureaucratic procedures that can delay assistance to those in need. On the other hand, access to essential goods, including food, is too often influenced by economic or strategic considerations. As a result, those who do not generate quantifiable value risk becoming invisible.

This twofold dynamic creates a serious ethical challenge: the human person is no longer consistently placed at the center of international action. In this context, it is important to acknowledge that “whereas forms of aid and development projects are obstructed by involved and incomprehensible political decisions, skewed ideological visions and impenetrable customs barriers, weaponry is not” (Francis, Address to the Executive Board of the World Food Programme, 13 June 2016). In effect, conflicts are “fed” more readily than people are nourished. This reality reflects not only operational shortcomings but also a fundamental imbalance in political and moral priorities.

The consequences extend well beyond those immediately affected. More than merely a humanitarian concern, hunger erodes social cohesion, heightens the risk of conflict and fuels forced migration. Moreover, it undermines the capacity of States and societies to build resilient institutions, provide effective education and foster sustainable economic development. In doing so, it perpetuates cycles of fragility that ultimately affect the broader international community.

From this perspective, it becomes clear that humanitarian action is not extraneous to the international order. Rather, it reflects the global community’s responsibility to strengthen solidarity, resist exclusion and recognize the inherent God-given dignity of every human person. Beyond managing crises, therefore, international institutions embody a principle of shared responsibility and affirm that the international community is bound together by concern for those in the most vulnerable situations. In this sense, the World Food Programme is more than a political, economic or technical actor; it is a concrete expression of international solidarity. Indeed, where national institutions recede and community networks disintegrate, its presence helps to prevent humanitarian crises from deteriorating into irreversible collapse.

For this reason, a renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation is essential. In an increasingly fragmented and multipolar world, no single State can address global challenges alone. Lasting peace and integral, sustainable human development are possible only through the participation of all, fostered by genuine international dialogue and cooperation oriented toward the common good. Such an approach requires a firm political will capable of transcending short-term perspectives and investing in global public goods. “This goal can only be achieved through the convergence of effective policies and the coordinated and synergistic implementation of interventions. The call to walk together, in fraternal harmony, must become the guiding principle” (Visit to the FAO Headquarters in Rome, 16 October 2025, 6).

In this spirit, I wish to appeal to the governments and peoples of the world to renew and strengthen their commitment, to increase the resources dedicated to combating hunger and its root causes, and to remove the obstacles that prevent aid from reaching those in need. At the same time, such support should also strengthen engagement with the Church and civil society. Reinforcing the capacities of all these actors together will multiply our collective effectiveness in the fight against hunger.

Implementing this appeal effectively requires reducing unnecessary bureaucracy so that transparency and accountability serve people rather than impede assistance. In situations where governments lack effective territorial control or humanitarian access is restricted, trusted local partners become indispensable. The Catholic Church — through parishes, dioceses, Caritas agencies, and other faith-based initiatives — often reaches vulnerable populations in areas inaccessible to international actors. I therefore encourage the World Food Programme and its partners to continue supporting these efforts.

It is equally important to resist the commodification of basic human needs. Food, water and healthcare cannot be subordinated to market considerations or geopolitical interests. Access to adequate food is a fundamental human right grounded in the dignity of every person. Meeting this need not only alleviates suffering but also addresses underlying causes of geopolitical instability. Indeed, food security is an essential component of global and integral security.

In this regard, it is commendable that, alongside its emergency response operations, the World Food Programme extends its work beyond immediate relief to long-term initiatives, such as programs that provide meals to schoolchildren. These investments strengthen education, human development and social resilience, reflecting an integral vision of human development that promotes dignity, opportunity and the well-being of the whole person.

Your Excellencies, dear friends, what is at stake is not only the effectiveness of an agency, but also the credibility of international cooperation itself. Your organization demonstrates that a renewed path is possible; however, it requires the resolve to simplify what has become overly complex, to prioritize what is essential and to ensure that no person is forgotten. For this commitment is grounded in the recognition that every human person possesses an inherent and inalienable dignity that remains intact regardless of circumstance, condition or social status. Rooted in the unconditional and boundless love of God, this dignity can be described as infinite, since nothing can diminish, erase or deny its value (cf. Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas, 53). It is precisely in our fidelity to this truth that the humanity of our politics is measured — and, with it, the future of the international community.

With these sentiments, I ask God to bless your efforts abundantly, so that all may receive their daily bread and live in dignity. Please be assured of my prayers for you, your loved ones and those whom you serve.

Thank you.

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Meeting with five WFP representatives from other countries

Pope Leo: Good morning, good afternoon, and perhaps good evening to all of you, spread around the world. We are happy to be here today to share this brief moment with representatives from the different member nations that are part of the World Food Programme, but also with each one of you who represent so many people that are out in the field doing the difficult task of the fight against hunger. I don’t know if it is appropriate to ask maybe two or three of you to say a word about where you are and what the most difficult challenges are, because in that way I, too, will be able to hear part of the reality of what it means to fight against hunger. I know that many of you literally risk your lives to be in the places where you are working, and I want certainly to assure all of you of the prayers and support of the worldwide community and, in a special way, of the Catholic Church, which is oftentimes a partner in collaboration with the programmes that you oversee and that you work in. The work of delivering the aid to those who are most in need is oftentimes, of course, a great challenge. But perhaps to hear first-hand a few of the experiences would also be something that would assist each and every one of us who are here this morning in Rome to understand a little bit better from close-up the kinds of challenges that you face.

[After the third Presenter]

Thank you, Cyril, for the mission that you are carrying out in Lebanon. One of the things that people oftentimes do not realize is the cyclical progression that brings many parts of the world to greater and greater difficulty — that hunger is oftentimes a cause of conflict, and conflict causes more hunger. And so we continue to go around in a circle, as I am sure some of you, if not all of you, have seen in the work you are doing. Oftentimes, the crisis which is affecting the whole world, in the area of migration, is also the result of extreme hunger and conflict that forces people to leave their homes, which they don’t do because they want to. They do it because they have to in order to survive. So, the work of each one of you, of all of you together at the World Food Programme — what we are certainly trying to support and promote — is extremely important because together we are not only doing the immediate aid, which is of course vital, of providing food to the hungry; but we are also challenged to look at what the root causes are of hunger in the different areas where you are working and to reach out there and to try and find solutions to those problems. The world today could live without hunger. The resources should be available. The capacity of food production exists, and yet oftentimes the resources are spent on promoting war and conflict and other kinds of, if you will, less important end results, so that the hunger continues and even to increase in some parts of the world. You are all on the ground, in the front lines, and it is because of you that the work of the World Food Programme can be carried out. So, I want to thank each and every one of you and all the people that you represent. And I want to encourage you in your work because it is so important that there be people who assist the World Food Programme in the delivery of this aid to so many people who are in need. So, thank you for what you are doing. May God bless you all, and may you continue to carry on — you and your colleagues. Please communicate my message to those that you work with, and may God bless you always in this very, very important labor. Thank you very much.

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Impromptu Greeting outside

My dear friends, good morning, good afternoon to all of you, to all those who are following online. I am sincerely honored to be in your presence and so many of you representing workers at the World Food Programme, who give their lives in a special mission throughout the world and, as Mrs. McCain was just saying, including in places that some people have never heard of on the front lines, in areas where literally they have to risk their lives in order to make sure that food supplies reach the most needy. That indeed is a great mission because it is a way of recognizing the human dignity — the very God-given dignity — that every person on the face of this earth deserves. So, thank you so much for your service.

As I was coming out here, walking through the garden, there were a number of different values and goals of the World Food Programme represented there. I would just like to underline two words as I share these brief moments with you.

One of them is the word “community.” It is a word that personally is very dear to my life and is something which I think that in today’s world is ever more important, as we live in a world that is polarized, divided and affected by so many conflicts and wars, where the destruction of human relationships continues because of so many different reasons, including technology. Instead of technology helping us to make a better world in which to live, it is oftentimes being used as a method of war, destruction and death. So, the work that you do — and perhaps even more than the work you do, the spirit you share as you all work together in building a community, in reaching out to those communities that are in need — is indeed a special gift. And I would like to encourage all of you to reflect upon your own role in being family — Mrs. McCain used that word also, the family that all of you represent — but of building up community throughout the world, that you and your work and service will indeed be a way of helping people come together to be united and to work together to solve the problems that cause hunger and to look for ways to create a more just world.

And the other word — the last one I saw coming out — was the word “hope.” You represent, in a very real way, hope to the world, and that is a mission which I think we all share and which we all look toward as part of our mission, whether the Catholic Church, those of us who are believers, or those who work together because they believe in the human dignity of all. We say we want to build up a world where there is hope for the future. So many times we read about young people who no longer have hope — young people who, because of the difficulties in their lives, are not necessarily in the poorest parts of the world, but where they have lost a vision and a sense of meaning in their lives. They have lost that capacity to look to the future and say, “This is worth doing. This is worth giving my life for. This is worth coming together and seeking a way to move forward.” You represent hope. And the work that you do, in reaching out especially to the most needy, is absolutely a sign of hope, a concrete expression of the hope that we all are searching for.

So, I thank you for that, and I want to assure you all of my prayers for your work, your mission and all of those who work in the World Food Programme. May all of you be strengthened and protected and in carrying out that mission, because food for the world is something that we all wish to offer — food for the world in the sense of something to eat each and every day, but also food which gives hope to build a better world, a world of peace, a world in which we are all truly united. God bless you all, and thank you very much.