Pope Leo in Lampedusa today: a tribute to migrants in the spirit of Pope Francis
Archbishop Damiano of Agrigento: “It is a clear message, a gesture of comfort to those men and women whose journey came to an end in Lampedusa”
Thirteen years after Francis, Pope Leo XIV returns to Lampedusa to reiterate his message in support of hospitality and human dignity – the very same message he had delivered less than a month ago in the port of Arguineguín, on Gran Canaria. This initiative demonstrates continuity on the issue of immigration with Bergoglio’s pontificate; it was on this very Sicilian island, in 2013, that he denounced the ‘globalisation of indifference’, casting a wreath of flowers into the sea to pay tribute to those who lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean.
The programme
Leone arrived on the island at around 9 am and will be met at the airport by Alfredo Mantovano, Under-Secretary to the Prime Minister. The day will begin at the cemetery, where the Pope laid a wreath on a number of graves.
Prevost also visited the Porta d’Europa, the sculpture dedicated to the memory of migrants who have died or gone missing at sea, before stopping off at the Favarolo pier. Here, the Pope blessed a plaque that will name the pier itself – the landing point for migrants who are transferred from here to the hotspot in the centre of the island – after Pope Francis.
While still at the pier, he met with some migrant women before heading to the stadium for Mass, which is expected to draw around 10,000 people. At 12.30 pm, Leone will return to the Vatican.
Reactions
Also on the island is Don Mattia Ferrari, the ship’s chaplain for Mediterranea Saving Humans, the organisation founded in 2018 to rescue migrants. Ferrari reiterated that ‘the Pope’s task is to strengthen people’s faith. And faith in Christ tells us to embrace the plight of the most vulnerable and defenceless, such as those who risk their lives in the Mediterranean’.”
