Pope Leo XIV prays at migrant graves in Lampedusa, urges Europe to 'welcome, protect, promote and integrate' refugees

A symbolic return to Lampedusa

Thirteen years after Pope Francis's visit, Pope Leo XIV traveled to the Italian island of Lampedusa on Saturday, a place that has become a symbol of the Mediterranean migration crisis. The half-day visit came weeks after the European Union adopted new migration measures, including the creation of detention centers outside EU borders.

Prayer at the cemetery of the unnamed

The Pope's first stop was the cemetery of Cala Pisana, where 15 graves hold the remains of unidentified migrants. He prayed in silence and laid a floral wreath at the tomb of a six-month-old baby named Yusuf, who died of hypothermia in 2020 after being rescued off the Libyan coast.

Those who have died in this sea are victims both of decisions taken and of decisions not taken.

Crossing the Gate of Europe

From the cemetery, Leo XIV moved to the Porta d'Europa, a five-meter-high ceramic and iron monument by artist Mimmo Paladino that serves as a beacon for arriving boats. In a powerful gesture, the Pope crossed the gate alone, then climbed the rocky cliff to gaze at the sea. A gust of wind blew off his skullcap. A child migrant handed him a football made of paper and a letter recalling his own arrival a decade ago, alone and without his mother.

In this place, more than words, gestures speak.

A call for European responsibility

Speaking from a bunker overlooking the Mediterranean, the Pope delivered a direct message to Europe. He said the continent possesses a unique potential derived from its history and culture, and therefore a corresponding responsibility. He called for an organic approach that combines immediate rescue with a long-term strategic plan to welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants, while also working for development so that no one is forced to emigrate.

Europe is capable of facing the crisis in an organic way, inserting first aid into a long-term strategic plan.

A community of rescue

Mayor Filippo Mannino welcomed the pontiff as a "fraternal caress for a wounded land" and described Lampedusa as an "outpost of humanity" that refuses to surrender to indifference. He presented the Pope with a lighthouse crafted by Franco Tuccio from wood recovered from migrant boats, a symbol of universal welcome. The Pope also met 15 migrants from the island's Red Cross hotspot, shaking each by the hand, and blessed a plaque renaming the Molo Favarolo after Pope Francis.