Pope Leo XIV wraps up Spain visit with migrant tribute at the 'shame dock' in the Canary Islands

A pilgrimage for migrants

Pope Leo XIV concluded his six-day tour of Spain on Thursday with a highly symbolic visit to the Canary Islands, the final leg of a journey dominated by the question of migration. The stop at the port of Arguineguín on Gran Canaria fulfilled a wish of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had wanted to visit what became known in 2020 as the “shame dock” (cais da vergonha) after thousands of migrants were kept in open-air camps for weeks. Leo XIV’s presence there turned a spotlight on the European Union’s southern maritime frontier, where West African migrants continue to arrive in precarious boats known as pateras or cayucos.

Europe's 'examination of conscience'

Addressing some 1,800 people, including hundreds of migrants, the Pope delivered a blunt challenge to European policymakers.

“We cannot grow accustomed to counting the dead. Human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border.”

He insisted that the Mediterranean and Atlantic must not be reduced to “cemeteries without tombstones” and called for an “examination of conscience” on the part of origin, transit, and destination countries — and the Church itself.

“Dear migrants, before I say anything else, I want to bow before your dignity. You are not numbers or processes. You are people with a family and a home left behind, with dreams that no one has the right to belittle.”

The pontiff also laid out concrete demands: legal and safe migration routes, rescue operations, a crackdown on traffickers, and integration policies that respect what he called the right to live in dignity in one’s own land.

The 'shame dock' and a human chain of remembrance

Arguineguín's port earned its notorious moniker in 2020, when a surge of arrivals forced migrants to sleep outdoors without sanitation. On Thursday, the site became a place of homage. Leo XIV joined a human chain along the shoreline as flowers were cast into the sea in memory of the thousands who have perished during the crossing. The ceremony was designed to give a human face to the tragedy.

Beyond the Canaries: a wider appeal

The Canary Islands visit capped a week of migration-focused interventions. In an unprecedented address to the Spanish parliament on June 6, shortly after his arrival in Madrid, the Pope called the “tragic migratory drama” a test for national consciences and urged multilateral cooperation centered on human dignity. During a stop in Barcelona on June 10, he blessed the newly completed Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família, telling a crowd of over 4,000 that the basilica’s height should serve to “guide the steps of the people of God” rather than chase records. Throughout the trip, the Pope’s message resonated with the Spanish government’s own policy: this year Madrid launched a legalization campaign for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants, citing both economic and humanitarian grounds.