Pope Leo XIV visits Lampedusa, honors migrant dead and calls for Europe to act

Pope Leo is following in his predecessor’s footsteps by placing migrants in the focus of his pontificate.

Pope Leo XIV honours migrant dead in Lampedusa urges Europe to act

Pope Leo XIV will spend July 4th in Lampedusa, Italy, one of Europe's busiest migrant landing points. He will pray with migrants and honor those who died trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page Pope Leo XIV, who has sparred with the Trump administration over its immigration crackdown, spent the Fourth of July honouring migrants who have died trying to reach Europe to find freedom. As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with rallies, parties and fireworks, history’s first U.S.-born pope travelled to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. While there, he prays at a migrant cemetery and celebrated a solemn Mass for the island’s residents and newest arrivals. A treeless strip of rock 5.6 miles long, Lampedusa is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland and is the main port of entry into Europe for hundreds of thousands of migrants who cross by boat. Leo met with some migrants at the port and then walked alone onto the jagged jetty rocks, the wind whipping his cassock and blowing his zucchetto skullcap off as he looked out to the sea. He then blessed a plaque dedicating the dock to Pope Francis, who visited in 2013, before celebrating Mass on land. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. The Holy Father walked with children and residents (Picture: Getty) ‘This is a place where gestures speak louder than words,’ Leo said. ‘But for gestures to be human, they need a heart.’ Leo sent a powerful message to the US and Europe of the Christian obligation to uphold the dignity of every human being, migrants and the most vulnerable. He also reminded the United States that it was founded by immigrants. In a letter sent to Americans, Leo insisted that protecting the unborn and all human life also means ‘welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices and contributions have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning.’ ‘To receive them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person,’ Leo wrote. The tiny island that’s Ground Zero for migration Lampedusa is the island many migrants first reach before Europe (Picture: Getty) In recent years, Lampedusa has become Ground Zero of Europe’s migration debate as the continent struggles to police its borders while honouring its legal obligations to welcome refugees fleeing conflict, climate change and poverty. In his homily, Leo thanked the residents of Lampedusa for the ‘miracle of compassion’ they have shown in welcoming migrants and urged Europe to rise to the challenge of the moment and assume its responsibility. ‘Indeed, before any intellectual consideration or ideological conviction, the encounter with those who lie before us, stripped of everything, calls us to be close to them,’ Leo said, wearing vestments decorated with images of waves. Preaching from ‘this far-flung corner of Europe on the Mediterranean Sea,’ Leo urged European leaders to address the migration phenomenon in a comprehensive way. He suggested integrating immediate relief with long-term strategies to receive, protect, support and integrate migrants while developing their home countries so no one is forced to migrate. The Pope took a moment to himself by the shoreline (Picture: Getty) The number of migrants arriving in Italy so far this year is significantly lower than in recent years, with the Interior Ministry reporting 14,464 arrivals as of Friday compared with 30,598 in the same period last year and 26,202 in 2024. At the same time, the International Organisation of Migration has recorded more than 35,000 missing migrants in the Mediterranean since 2014, though the actual number of dead is believed to be far higher. Leo has strongly emphasised the need to uphold the dignity of migrants, especially amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation program in his native Chicago. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

Pontiff urges people in Europe and US to welcome and assist migrants during symbolic trip to Italy’s frontier island.

The pontiff's trip to the migration frontline of Lampedusa underscored a stark message for Europe and the United States as intolerance and indifference rise.