Pope Leo XIV stood on the jagged jetty rocks of Lampedusa on Saturday, the wind whipping his cassock and blowing his zucchetto skullcap off as he looked out to the Mediterranean Sea – the same waters where more than 1,400 people have died or gone missing this year, including 28 children, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.
History's first US-born pope had travelled to the Sicilian island, 90 miles off Tunisia's coast, on the Fourth of July – a day the United States marked with rallies and fireworks for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But Leo spent it honouring migrants who died trying to reach Europe, and sent a pointed message both to Washington and European capitals.
“Pope Leo XIV visits Lampedusa, urges Europe to integrate migrants and calls anti-migrant policies a failure.”
In a letter to Americans, the pontiff 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.'
His trip came two weeks after the EU approved tougher migrant rules allowing stricter border controls and broader detention powers, part of a wider hardening of stances by governments including the UK and Italy. Leo has repeatedly criticised anti-migrant policies since becoming head of the Catholic Church in May 2025.
He began the visit at a migrant cemetery on Lampedusa, praying at the graves of those who died making the dangerous crossing from Africa. He then stood at the 'Door of Europe' memorial and blessed a plaque dedicating the dock to Pope Francis, who visited in 2013.
'This is a place where gestures speak louder than words,' Leo said. 'But for gestures to be human, they need a heart.'
At a Mass for the island's residents and newest arrivals, the pope urged European leaders to address migration in a comprehensive way. 'From this far-flung corner of Europe on the Mediterranean Sea, one can more clearly perceive the momentous challenge that the phenomenon of migration poses to European societies,' he told Catholics.
He called for integrating immediate relief with long-term strategies 'capable of receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants' while 'assisting developing countries so that no one is forced to emigrate.'
'Those who have lost their lives in this sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made,' the Pope said.
New migrants, rescue officials, members of aid groups and the Italian Coast Guard gathered to see him. 'The pope's visit speaks to every one of us,' said Kandeh Abdourahman, a migrant who arrived in Lampedusa in 2015, told Reuters.
In his homily, Leo thanked residents for the 'miracle of compassion' they have shown in welcoming migrants. '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,' he said, wearing vestments decorated with images of waves.