Pope Leo XIV marked July 4 with a powerful appeal to Americans to welcome immigrants with “compassion and generosity” during a visit to the frontlines of the Mediterranean migrant crisis on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The first American pontiff arrived on the southern Italian island and immediately released a letter stating that protecting human life means “welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants,” whose “hopes, sacrifices and contribution” have shaped the history of the United States.
Leo began his visit at the “Door to Europe,” a memorial to the thousands of migrants who have died or disappeared crossing the Mediterranean. He paused to pay his respects, looking out over the blue waters as the wind blew off his white zuchetto.
Two high-profile leaders in the U.S. Catholic church told CNN that the pope’s July 4 visit to Lampedusa—the main entry point to Europe for hundreds of thousands of mostly African migrants—sends a clear message to the United States about immigration.
“In every generation, those who have arrived seeking freedom, opportunity and a place to belong have helped to shape the nation’s character,” the pope wrote in a letter marking the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence. “To receive them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person.”
On Friday, the pope used a speech in Philadelphia at a ceremony to accept the Liberty Medal to praise his country’s history of welcoming new arrivals, recalling how it had “opened its doors to successive waves of immigrants, enabling them and their children to play their part in shaping the future of the nation.”
On Lampedusa, he visited the cemetery, where there is a section for migrants. Among those buried there is Yusuf Ali Kanneh, a six-month-old who drowned in a migrant boat wreck in 2020. He also met migrants and blessed a dedication plaque to Pope Francis, who paid an impactful visit to the island in 2013.
One of those he met, a boy named Leo who arrived on the island 10 years ago having lost his mother, presented the pope with a letter and a ball, which he said he hoped could be passed on to another migrant child.
“I’m super excited to meet you! 10 years ago my story began here in Lampedusa. I was alone and had lost everything, above all my mom. They say I stopped crying only when they gave me a ball, from that day the ball stayed in my heart and I never stopped playing,” the letter read. “I really hope this ball I’m giving you now can reach another child and make them happy just like it did me.”
The Chicago-born pope was greeted by a singing, flag-waving crowd for the main event of his visit: an open-air Mass. Greeting the crowd, he called for gestures that make the “world of today and tomorrow… more human.”
In his homily, the pope called on European leaders to put in place plans for “receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants,” while at the same time “assisting developing countries so that no one is forced to emigrate.” He added: “This is a task not only for public institutions but also for civil society as a whole and for the Church.”
