Pope Visits U.S. Ambassador On July 4 After Prayers At Lampedusa Cemetery For Migrant Victims

LAMPEDUSA, Sicily (AP) — Pope Leo XIV He argued with the Trump administration He spent Saturday, July 4, at the epicenter of Europe’s migration debate to honor the tens of thousands of people who have died trying to reach Europe to find freedom and prosperity because of its crackdown on immigrants.

While the United States points 250th anniversary between Declaration of Independence With rallies, parties and fireworks, the US-born pope traveled to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, where he prayed at an immigrant cemetery and celebrated a solemn Mass for the island’s residents and newcomers.

Later on Saturday, he lived in the spirit of July 4th by visiting the residence of US Ambassador to the Vatican Brian Burch. The Vatican confirmed that Leo had accepted an invitation to attend Burch’s anniversary celebrations.

Lampedusa, a 9-kilometer (5.6-mile) treeless strip of rock, 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 from Libya or Tunisia and are often smuggled in by people smugglers.

Leo met some immigrants at the harbor and then walked alone on the rocks at the breakwater, the wind whipping his robe and blowing his gourd skullcap as he looked out to sea. He then presented a plaque dedicating the pier to Pope Francis, who visited it in 2013, before celebrating Mass on land.

“This is a place where gestures speak louder than words,” Leo said. “But gestures need a heart to be human.”

Leo, who made the visit this Saturday, was sending a strong symbolic message to the USA and Europe. Christian obligation Protecting the dignity of immigrants and every human being, especially those most vulnerable, while reminding us that the United States was founded by immigrants.

In a letter to Americans on the July 4th anniversary, Leo emphasized that protecting the unborn and all human life also means “welcoming, protecting, and assisting immigrants whose hopes, sacrifices, and contributions have been part of this country’s history from its very beginning.”

“Welcoming them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human being,” Leo wrote.

Lampedusa has become Ground Zero of Europe’s migration debate in recent years as the continent struggles to police its borders while meeting its legal obligations to accept refugees fleeing conflict, climate change and poverty.

In his sermon, Leo thanked the residents of Lampedusa for the “miracle of mercy” they showed in welcoming the immigrants and called on Europe to confront the current challenges and take responsibility.

“In fact, encountering those who stand before us, stripped of everything, before any intellectual evaluation or ideological conviction, calls us to be close to them,” said Leo, who wore robes decorated with pictures of waves.

Preaching from “this farthest corner of Europe in the Mediterranean”, Leo called on European leaders to comprehensively address the phenomenon of migration, integrating emergency aid with long-term strategies to receive, protect, support and integrate migrants, while also developing their own countries so that no one is forced to emigrate.

“Here you saw not just one but thousands of people falling into the hands of robbers who took everything, beat them brutally and walked away, leaving them half dead,” he said.

Others died during the voyage, he said, “yet we feel their presence, which strains us no less than that of those ashore who need no less care and assistance.”

The number of immigrants arriving in Italy so far this year is significantly lower than in recent years; The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that 14,464 migrants had arrived as of Friday, compared to 30,598 in the same period last year and 26,202 in 2024.

At the same time, the International Organization for Migration has recorded more than 35,000 missing migrants in the Mediterranean since 2014; but the actual death toll is believed to be much higher, given the number of “invisible” shipwrecks that were never recorded.

Leo has strongly emphasized the need to protect the dignity of immigrants, especially during the Trump administration’s mass deportation program in his hometown of Chicago. But he also directed his message to the Christian leaders of Europe.

Last month, Leo visited Spain’s Canary Islands, another migration hotspot in Europe, to shame leaders who are blithely turning away migrants while also warning people smugglers. He will face the wrath of Allah To exploit the desperation of immigrants.

After arriving in Lampedusa by plane, Leo paid tribute to the dead at the island’s immigrant cemetery, laying a wreath of yellow and white flowers on their graves, marked with simple crosses made from the splintered wood of sunken boats.

Tareke Brhane, an Eritrean immigrant and president of the October 3 Committee, a non-profit organization founded by relatives of victims of the 2013 shipwreck in Lampedusa that killed 368 people, said the gestures sent “a strong message of solidarity.”

“This is a strong signal for our fight with Italy and Europe to register deaths, because as of today we still do not have a register (of the dead),” he told The Associated Press.

Leo’s visit both honors those who died and “sends a message to relatives for whom many are still waiting and suffering,” he said.

With his visit, Leo followed in the footsteps of Francis, who made the situation of immigrants and refugees a priority of his papacy. For the Catholic Church, welcoming and accompanying people fleeing difficulties is part of the biblical call to “welcome the stranger.”

In his first trip outside Rome after his election, Francis traveled to Lampedusa in July 2013. He threw a wreath into the sea in memory of the immigrants who lost their lives “The globalization of indifference” The world shows immigrants.

Salvatore Sortino, head of IOM’s mission in Italy and Malta, said that despite the decrease in arrivals, the death toll increased proportionally, “in this sense, the decrease in the number of arrivals did not result in fewer deaths at sea.”

“This speaks to the remaining vulnerability,” he said. “So the pope’s visit to the place where all of this happened is, I think, a very important reminder of that element.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US and funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.