Pope urges Europe to do more for migrants while visiting gateway island
Pope Leo XIV called on European leaders to meet the “important challenge” of addressing migration while visiting the Italian island of Lampedusa.
During the mass on the island, where tens of thousands of immigrants are accepted every year, the Pope called on Europe to help new arrivals better integrate into their own countries and improve conditions in their own countries.
“Those who lost their lives in this sea are victims of both the decisions taken and the decisions not taken,” the Pope said.
The American Pope, who became head of the Catholic Church in May 2025, has repeatedly called for more support for immigrants and criticized the US government’s anti-immigration policies.
He began his journey by visiting a cemetery in Lampedusa and prayed over the graves of immigrants who died during the perilous journey from Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean.
The Pope also stopped at the “Gate of Europe” monument, dedicated to those who lost their lives while trying to cross, and spoke to a migrant family.
“From this remote corner of Europe in the Mediterranean, one can more clearly perceive the serious challenge that the phenomenon of migration poses to European societies,” he told Catholics on the island.
“Europe has the capacity to respond comprehensively to the crisis in this region by integrating emergency relief efforts into a long-term strategic plan capable of receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants” and “assisting developing countries so that no one is forced to migrate,” he said.
Located 90 miles (145km) off the coast of Tunisia, the island of Lampedusa is home to an overcrowded migrant reception center with harsh living conditions.
Those who make the journey often travel on poorly maintained and overcrowded ships, making sea crossings more dangerous for those on board.
More than 1,400 people, including 28 children, have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
