Labor Day is also an opportunity to honor the myriad contributions of workers to the nation’s social and economic life and to reflect, gratefully, on efforts by so many to advance the dignity of workers. It was in 1894 that President Grover Cleveland signed the bill establishing our federal Labor Day.

It seems no mere coincidence that Labor Day was born in the wake of Pope Leo XIII’s landmark 1891 encyclical, Rerum Novarum. Just as Labor Day responded to concerns about labor at the turbulent end of the 19th century, Rerum Novarum also addressed that era’s “new things”: the Industrial Revolution, degrading working conditions, the threat of socialism, and the tensions — occasionally violent — between workers and employers. 

Rerum Novarum asserted that the Church has much to contribute to discussion of social questions and that “by keeping silence we would seem to neglect the duty incumbent on us.” Catholic social teaching before, but certainly since, Rerum Novarum has been inextricably intertwined with questions of human work.

Rerum Novarum was prescient. With passion, Pope Leo XIII solicited support for the material, spiritual and physical welfare of workers. He decried their exploitation, defended the proper use of private property, described the reciprocal obligations of workers and employers, encouraged unions of workers, promoted family life, demanded a day of rest for workers’ religious obligations, and forcefully denounced the growing dangers of socialism.

Today, yet again, there are significant challenges to ponder on Labor Day. Statistics show that an increasing number of working-age Americans, particularly men, are opting out of the workforce. A gig economy leaves many with little stability and continuity. The rise in usage of artificial intelligence makes many fearful about employment opportunities and security. Stress and loneliness are deep social concerns. Many question the value of higher education, once seen as a predictable path to economic success. 

Primary and secondary education too often leaves our youngest ill-prepared in basic skills. “Off the books” employment can be exploitative and drive down wages. Socialism has found a receptive audience in disillusioned youth. Political rhetoric pits employers and employees against each other in strident, vicious, zero-sum ways. Family life is strained when parents work long hours and unpaid work is undervalued.

In this climate, Pope Leo XIII’s namesake, Pope Leo XIV, offers some insights on the modern state of labor. While Pope Leo XIV’s May 2026 debut encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, is popularly known for its attention to A.I., it also devotes significant attention to the labor question. Particularly in Chapter 4, Pope Leo XIV offers practical guideposts and recommendations for our era, which he calls “a time of transformation.” 

This is well worth reading, particularly for those who have responsibility for shaping public policies impacting employment, guiding young adults into the workforce, or assisting those whose roles may be changed dramatically by new technology.

Perhaps more importantly, however, Pope Leo XIV, like his predecessor, extols the critical importance of work in human life. He praises work as a good that “expresses and enhances the dignity of our lives,” noting that while “financial assistance to the poor may at times be necessary in emergencies … it cannot become the sole response since the goal is to enable each person to live with dignity through his or her own work.”

Particularly with respect to young people, Pope Leo tells his readers that work is “a crucial sphere in which identity is formed, friendships and relationships are forged, practical responsibilities are learned and one’s vocation is discerned.”

This praise of the goodness of work is particularly worth reflecting on in anticipation of Labor Day.

It challenges us to appreciate the importance and goodness of paid and unpaid work, not merely as an economic benefit but also as a way of contributing to the common good, placing one’s gifts and talents in the service of others, and building communities in a world that can be increasingly isolating. Too often, particularly as many opt out of work and disengage with their communities, this optimism and enthusiasm about the intrinsic value of work is an important reminder that our labors are an integral part of our humanity. Thus, Magnifica Humanitas encourages us to celebrate the beauty of work.

However, it also challenges us to support those who do not have the job of their dreams or who do hard, difficult and dangerous work with seemingly no reward other than supporting themselves and their families. Many are not in — or not yet in — jobs well matched with their talents and interests. Many earn their daily bread in jobs that are dreary or lonely. For these workers, the burden of work may be heavier and discourse on the beauty and value of work may ring hallow.

Yet, the dignity of this labor deserves recognition and gratitude. In a world that may too often undervalue sacrifice, those who serve the ones they love by willingly taking on work they would not have chosen is an example of selfless service that will have its own rewards.

As we celebrate Labor Day, the Church’s reflections on the role of work seem particularly timely. On this holiday, with hope, we can entrust the intentions of all who labor to the care of a carpenter from Nazareth, who understood the labors of ordinary time.