Do not 'take your eyes off the poor,' Pope tells Madagascar's bishops (Vatican News)

Pope Leo received the bishops of Madagascar, who were in Rome for their ad limina visit, and resumed the custom—discontinued under Pope Francis—of delivering an address.

“Your closeness to the people of God is a living sign of the Gospel,” the Pope said. “I encourage each one of you, in your episcopal ministry, to take particular care of the priests, who are your first collaborators and your closest brothers, as well as the religious brothers and sisters who spend themselves in service.”

Pope Leo also gave “thanks for the missionary vitality of your particular Churches” and added:

I urge you not to take your eyes off the poor: they are at the center of the Gospel and are the privileged recipients of the proclamation of the Good News. May you recognize in them the face of Christ, and may your pastoral action always be inspired by a concrete concern for the little ones. May your ministry in this Jubilee, beyond its trials, help them to ignite the ever-new horizons of the hope offered by Christ.

Madagascar, an island nation of 29.5 million off the African coast, is 60% Christian (23% Catholic), 37% ethnic religionist, and 2% Muslim.