Let us pray that through work, each person might find fulfilment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanized.

May 2025

In his annual publication of prayer intentions for 2025, Pope Francis had invited us to pray in May for working conditions…
The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network entrusts to the Lord the mission of the new Pope and continues its apostolic work of entrusting to God the challenges of humanity and the Church’s mission…
This month, let us be inspired by this video featuring the words of the last three Popes: Francis, Benedict XVI, and Saint John Paul II.

During a General Audience in 2022, Pope Francis said: “The evangelists Matthew and Mark refer to Joseph as a carpenter. Jesus practised his father’s trade, which was a pretty hard job. From an economic point of view, it did not ensure great earnings. This biographical fact about Joseph and Jesus” made him “think of all the workers in the world.”
“Work”, Pope Francis added, “anoints our dignity: What gives you dignity is not bringing bread home. What gives you dignity is earning your bread.”
Pope Benedict XVI, addressing all workers on the feast of Saint Joseph in 2006, also stressed that “work is of fundamental importance to the fulfilment of the human being and to the development of society. Thus, it must always be organized and carried out with full respect for human dignity and must always serve the common good. At the same time,” Pope Benedict remarked, “it is indispensable that people do not allow themselves to be enslaved by work or idolize it, claiming to find in it the ultimate and definitive meaning of life.”
And Saint John Paul II said during the celebration of the Jubilee of Workers in the year 2000 that, “the Jubilee Year calls for a rediscovery of the meaning and value of work. It is also an invitation to address the economic and social imbalances in the world of work by re-establishing the right hierarchy of values, giving priority to the dignity of working men and women and to their freedom, responsibility and participation.” John Paul II also encouraged us to “redress situations of injustice” while not forgetting those “suffering because of unemployment, inadequate wages or lack of material resources.”
Let us pray that through work, each person might find fulfilment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanized.

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PRESS RELEASE

Decent employment for everyone: a message from the last three Popes

• The video with the prayer intention for the month of May – “that through work, each person might find fulfilment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanized” – is released.
• The teaching of Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, emphasizes that the human person must be the center and priority of the world of work. 
• The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network entrusts the mission of the next Pope to the Lord and continues its apostolic work, praying for the challenges of humanity and the Church’s mission. 

(Vatican City, 5 May 2025). – In his annual publication of prayer intentions for 2025, Pope Francis invited us to pray during the month of May “For working conditions.” Due to his death, the format for the video accompanying this prayer intention has changed. It offers for our reflection a few words on this topic from the last three Popes – John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis.

The Pope Video for May, produced with the support of the Chamber of Commerce of Rome and the Fondazione PRO Rete Mondiale di Preghiera del Papa and distributed by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, invites us to pray “that through work, each person might find fulfilment, families might be sustained in dignity, and that society might be humanized”

Accompanying the Popes’ words are images that combine different lived experiences revolving around the world of work. First, we see a carpentry workshop with a 19th century statue of St. Joseph the Worker hand-carved from linden wood by master craftsmen from Val Gardena; various shots from the International City of Loppiano where work is experienced from the perspective of communion – a ceramic studio, an agricultural cooperative, a company specializing in the packaging and finishing of a variety of items –Other images portray the exploitation millions of workers experience in various parts of the world.

160 million children forced to work

Since the end of the 19th century, the world of work has always been very present in the Church’s teaching. This is the result of their attentiveness to and concern for the reality of their time. In fact, according to data from the UN and the International Labour Organization, 402.4 million people throughout the world cannot find work; 160 million children are forced to work; 240 million workers are paid less than $3.65 a day; and more than 60% of the world’s active population work in the informal economy, which means that some 2 billion people lack workers’ rights and social protection.

The Popes and the world of work

Pope Francis’s words highlight that “work anoints our dignity,” and earning one’s bread confers dignity on the person. Jesus himself worked as a carpenter, “a pretty hard job,” he continues, that “did not ensure great earnings,” thus associating him to every worker throughout history.

A few phrases from Pope Benedict XVI underline the importance of work “for the fulfillment of the human being and the development of society.” It thus follows that work must be “organized and carried out with full respect for human dignity, and serve the common good.” At the same time, the human person, “must not allow themselves to be enslaved by work…claiming to find in it the ultimate and definitive meaning of life,” which is found in God alone.

Lastly, the words of Saint John Paul II encourage us to face economic and social inequalities and unjust situations present in the working world, “giving priority to the dignity of working men and women and to their freedom, responsibility and participation.” All this, without forgetting those “suffering because of unemployment, inadequate wages or lack of material resources.” It is precisely these inequalities and unjust situations that make it necessary that we pray that the human person be priority of work and the economy, rather than profit.

Mutual well-being

“Work is like air,” comments Lorenzo Tagliavanti, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Rome. “You become aware of its value when you don’t have it. The Holy Father underscores the importance of personal fulfillment, a decent livelihood for one’s family, and the construction of a more human society. He highlights that the meaning of work should be sought in the expression of one’s own dignity and contribution to the common good. As a reference point for the Province of Rome and its economic community, our Institution tries our best to daily promote all these aspects alongside businesses and employees. On the eve of the Jubilees of Workers and of Entrepreneurs, this prayer intention offers us the opportunity to reaffirm the commitment made by another – Pope Gregory XVI – when in 1831 he instituted the Chamber of Commerce of Rome through an edict issued by Secretary of State Cardinal Bernetti to pursue a model of development founded on collaboration and on attentiveness to the common good. Allow me,” Tagliavanti concludes, “to recall the words of His Holiness in 2023 to a group of French entrepreneurs: ‘if it is true that work ennobles the human person, it is even truer that the human person ennobles work.’ For two centuries, it is precisely this attention to the human person that has motivated us in the search for a development model directed toward everyone’s mutual well-being.”

Work and dignity

Another concept the Pope highlights is that the value of work reaches far beyond an economic aspect. “If we were to ask ten children what they want to be when they grow up,” comments Stefano Simontacchi, a founding member and Member of the Board of the Fondazione PRO Rete Mondiale di Preghiera del Papa, “we would probably receive ten different responses because the aspirations of each person are different. In fact, as in the parable of the talents, each of us has been given our own gifts, and work provides us with the opportunity of making them bear fruit, of developing our own personality. There’s much more to work than economic independence, which is also important – there’s also the contribution that one gives back to society. And for us believers, it is also our participation in the divine creation. Pope Francis uses a really beautiful expression to define all this. He says, ‘work anoints our dignity.’ It is this anointing of our dignity that truly makes the difference in our lives. Even more so, this epoch of great change, such as artificial intelligence, must move us to promote networks founded on solidarity as a form of social cohesion. Gratitude, respect and solidarity must be our compass.”

Decent employment for all

The International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Father Cristóbal Fones, explains that for Saint John Paul II, the human person is called to work given the fact that we are “made in the image and likeness of God.” It is precisely the Lord that gives us the possibility of participating in his creative work through work. In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, John Paul II tells us that through our work, human dignity, fraternal unity and freedom must be multiplied. The work of a Christian, united to prayer, makes the world advance and, what is most important, we collaborate in the unfolding of the Kingdom of God.

“Picking up on this,” Father Fones continues, “his successor Benedict XVI states in the encyclical Caritas in Veritate that the dignity of the person requires that economic choices not increase inequalities, and that decent employment for everyone is a first priority. Pope Benedict asserts that in many cases, poverty is the result of the violation of the dignity of human work due at times by limiting the possibilities of the person, as in the case of unemployment or underemployment, and at other times by not respecting the right to a decent salary or to the security of the employee and their families.”

In this sense, Father Fones underlines the continuity of the teaching of Pope Francis with that of his predecessors. “Pope Francis tells us that work is sacred. It is a means by which we build a more human society. If we want a more just society, we must promote decent, stable employment, that takes place in healthy environments with adequate safety measures. This entails respect for basic rights and social protection, as well as a salary that allows the family to maintain a good quality of life.”

This will be possible if “the authentic value of work is restored by abandoning the logic of profit at any cost, and by placing the person at the center, especially those who are unable to live today in a humanly dignified way.”

Lastly, within the context of the Holy Year 2025, The Pope Video acquires special relevance since through it we know the Pope’s prayer intentions. To properly receive the graces of the Jubilee indulgence, it is necessary to pray for the Pope’s intentions. 

This project is possible thanks to many donations. You can donate by following this link.

Where can the video be seen?

• Official website of The Pope Video
• YouTube channel of The Pope Video
• Facebook page of The Pope Video
• The Pope Video on Twitter/X
• The Pope Video on Instagram

About The Pope Video

The Pope Video is an official global initiative with the purpose of disseminating the Holy Father’s monthly prayer intentions. It is carried out by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer). Since 2016, The Pope Video has had more than 244 million views across all the Vatican’s social networks, and is translated into more than 23 languages, receiving press coverage in 114 countries. This video was produced and created by The Pope Video Prayer Network team, coordinated by Andrea Sarubbi, and distributed with the help of La Machi Communication for Good Causes. The project is sponsored by Vatican Media. 

About the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network

The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is a Pontifical Society, with the mission of mobilizing Catholics through prayer and action in response to the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church. These challenges are presented in the form of prayer intentions entrusted by the Pope to the entire Church. The foundation’s mission is inscribed in the dynamic of the Heart of Jesus, a mission of compassion for the world. It was founded in 1844 as the Apostleship of Prayer. It is present in 92 countries, and is made up of more than 22 million Catholics. It includes a youth branch, the Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM). In July 2024, the Pope approved the definitive Statutes of this Pontifical Work (canonical and Vatican legal entity). Its international director is Father Cristóbal Fones, SJ. For more information, visit: https://www.popesprayer.va.

About the Fondazione Pro Rete Mondiale di Preghiera del Papa

Created in January 2024, the Fondazione Pro Rete Mondiale di Preghiera del Papa is a non-profit organization whose objective is to support the activities and international projects of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network. This can be done in various ways: the organization and management of cultural, artistic and recreational activities; charitable initiatives favoring the most unfortunate: the promotion and protection of human, civil and social rights; supporting spiritual or missionary activities in the poorest and most marginalized areas of the world in which the work of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is carried out directly or through its local offices and parish groups of the Apostleship of Prayer or the Eucharistic Youth Movement. Lastly, the Foundation seeks to promote the importance of spirituality and prayer as effective tools to promote peace through specifically popular types of activities. For more information: https://fondazionepropreghiera.org 

The Chamber of Commerce of Rome

Fostering the development of the territory and the enterprises operating therein (over 450 thousand) and improving the quality of life of its citizens – this is the mission of the Rome Chamber of Commerce, a public entity enjoying functional autonomy. Founded in 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI through an edict of Secretary of State Cardinal Bernetti, the Chamber is the point of reference for the economic community of the city of Rome. The Chamber is very active in incentivizing the competitiveness of businesses through activities such as providing economic information, technical assistance for creating start-ups and preparing international markets, in promoting digitalization, and supporting the digital and eco-sustainable transition. The Rome Chamber of Commerce has recently promoted the set-up of infrastructures that have played a key role in the city’s modernization, such as the Tiburtino Technological Park (Tiburtino and Castel Romano), the Food and Agriculture Center of Rome, the Exhibition Center and the Auditorium Parco della Musica (Music Park Auditorium). The Chamber of Commerce has often acted in synergy with other institutions, including private institutions, following a development model founded on collaboration, dedication, attention to the common good. Thanks to its unique position, the Chamber maintains a significant relationship with the Holy See and with Catholic institutions, collaborating on projects for the common good that unite economic, social and cultural development. For more information: www.rm.camcom.it.

PRESS CONTACTS

POPE’S WORLDWIDE PRAYER NETWORK – VATICAN CITY [email protected]

PARTNERS

FONDAZIONE PRO RETE MONDIALE DI PREGHIERA DEL PAPA – Gianluca Vignola [email protected]

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF ROME Press Office [email protected] +39 06 6976901

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POSTER

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