Pope Leo invokes patron saint of immigrants as friction with Trump intensifies
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Pope Leo XIV celebrated the first American saint and patron saint of immigrants on Saturday. Honoring Frances Xavier Cabrini, he made his final appeal on their behalf, asking Catholics to look to his example at a time when immigration remains one of the defining issues of his nascent papacy.
These remarks come as Leo continues to make immigration a central focus of his public ministry; This led to months of public friction with President Donald Trump over immigration and foreign policy.
“What could be more meaningful today than the charism of a missionary dedicated to serving immigrants?” Leo said during evening prayers in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, the northern Italian town where Cabrini was born.
The American-born pope prayed at Cabrini’s grave and urged young Catholics to learn from the saint’s life serving immigrants, many of whom left their homelands to find better opportunities.
POPE LEO
Pope Leo XIV presided over the celebration on Saturday at the parish of Santi Antonio Abate e Francesca Cabrini in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Italy. The visit was part of his pastoral journey to nearby Pavia, marking the birthplace of Francesca Cabrini, the first U.S. saint and Patroness of Immigrants. (Mario Tomassetti/Vatican Media)
But Leo also referenced his predecessor, Pope Francis, whose own papacy was defined in part by calls to welcome immigrants.
“Let us ask ourselves: If Mother Francesca were alive today, what would her missionary spirit say to her?” Leo said. “So what could a pope like Francis, who, as the son of Italian immigrants, has made service to immigrants one of the main priorities of his papacy, want from him?”
The comments are the latest in a series of immigration-focused appearances that have helped define Leo’s first year as pope.
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Pope Leo XIV greets the faithful as he leaves the parish of Santi Antonio Abate e Francesca Cabrini in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Italy, on Saturday. (Mario Tomassetti/Vatican Media)
Last week, Leo traveled to Spain’s Canary Islands, a major destination for migrants leaving West Africa, where he met migrants and called for greater efforts to welcome and integrate people fleeing hardship and conflict.
During this trip, Leo called on world leaders to create “legal and safe pathways” for migration and warned that migrants should not be reduced to statistics.
Leo’s advocacy for immigration has been frequently criticized by Trump, who accuses the pope of engaging in politics and strongly disagrees with some of his comments on immigration and foreign affairs.
The public disputes became one of the most closely watched relations between the Vatican and Washington during Leo’s papacy.
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Pope Leo XIV presided over a celebration at the parish of Santi Antonio Abate e Francesca Cabrini in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, Italy, on Saturday during his pastoral journey to nearby Pavia. (Mario Tomassetti/Vatican Media)
Earlier this year, Reuters reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expected to meet with Vatican officials and Italian leaders at a time of rising tensions between the Vatican and the Trump administration.
Leo denied claims that his remarks were a political attack; instead, he argued that their call stemmed from Catholic teaching on human dignity, peace, and care for vulnerable people.
Saturday’s visit focused on Cabrini, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen and served Italian immigrants through schools, hospitals and orphanages for decades before her death in Chicago in 1917.
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Pope Leo XIV held a private audience with Vice President J.D. Vance at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City on May 19, 2025. (Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media)
The Vatican also announced that Leo would travel to the Italian island of Lampedusa on July 4; This date is likely to attract attention in the United States, given the pope’s American roots.
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Lampedusa has become one of Europe’s most well-known immigration destinations, with thousands of migrants attempting the perilous crossing from North Africa each year. The island also has symbolic importance for the Catholic Church as it was the destination of Pope Francis’ first trip outside Rome after becoming pope in 2013.
Fox News Digital’s Eric Mack and Robert McGreevy and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
