Pope Leo XIV on Migrants & Refugees: A Timeline

“I have come to thank you, brothers and sisters of Lampedusa, for the solidarity that so many of you have shown. Once again, the miracle of compassion has taken place: “he saw them and had compassion on them” (v. 33)… Compassion, which recognizes a brother or sister in peril at sea, is its first stirring: a profound call to do what you might never have imagined possible.

I greet the migrants who are here. They themselves have not only received solidarity but have often shown it on their journey, as the poor helping the poorest. Thank you, brothers and sisters, because there is nothing to be taken for granted in you reaching out to others; nothing happens automatically.”

Holy Mass, Homily of Pope Leo XIV (Arena Sports Field, Salina)

“Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices and contribution have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning. In every generation, those who have arrived seeking freedom, opportunity and a place to belong have helped to shape the nation’s character. 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.”

“Human dignity demands legal and safe pathways, rescue and assistance, real cooperation against traffickers, effective protection for victims, serious processes of reception and integration, and policies that allow every person to live with dignity in their own land.

While there is a right to seek refuge when life is threatened, there is also the right not to have to migrate: the right to remain in one’s own home without hunger, war, persecution, violence, the land becoming uninhabitable, corruption stealing the bread from the poor or weapons destroying the future of children. We cannot grow accustomed to counting the dead. Human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border.”

Meeting With Organizations Working With Migrants, Address Of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, 11 June 2026

Port of Arguineguín, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

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“A human conscience, and even more so a Christian conscience, cannot remain indifferent in the face of these graveyards of the sea, to the victims of shipwrecks and the lack of aid. Every life lost on these routes is a failure for the human family.

Nevertheless, there is also a silent shipwreck that occurs after arrival: being left alone in a city, without a voice, without ties, work or a sense of security, and exposed to those who take advantage of vulnerability. Integration means preventing that second shipwreck. It means helping those who arrived wounded not to remain forever stuck in their pain, but to be able to get back on their feet, recognize their gifts and offer them to the community.”

Meeting With Organizations Working for the Integration of Migrants, Address of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, 12 June 2026

Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna, Tenerife

“Pope Francis urged us to see migrants not simply as a problem to be managed, but as a living image of the People of God on the move. They are people with dignity, resources and dreams, who have the right to be treated with respect and to ask to become active members of the societies that welcome them.

Social justice in this area entails at least two complementary commitments. On the one hand, this means protecting the rightful hopes of those forced to leave by ensuring safe and legal routes, dignified conditions for receiving them, and genuine pathways to integration. On the other hand, it means promoting the right to remain in one’s homeland in peace and security by addressing the root causes that force people to migrate, including those linked to economic injustices and the climate crisis. When these rights are respected, migration can become an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment among peoples.”

“In the face of grave challenges, we turn to prayer and awareness. Prayer is the ‘small flame’ that we must guard amidst the storm, as it gives us the strength to resist indifference to injustice. Awareness enables us to identify the hidden mechanisms of exploitation in our neighborhoods and in digital spaces. Ultimately, the violence of human trafficking can be overcome only through a renewed vision that beholds every individual as a beloved child of God.”

“In a world darkened by war and injustice, even when all seems lost, migrants and refugees stand as messengers of hope. Their courage and tenacity bear heroic testimony to a faith that sees beyond what our eyes can see and gives them the strength to defy death on the various contemporary migration routes… At the same time, the communities that welcome them can also be a living witness to hope, one that is understood as the promise of a present and a future where the dignity of all as children of God is recognized. In this way, migrants and refugees are recognized as brothers and sisters, part of a family in which they can express their talents and participate fully in community life.”

Message Of Pope Leo XIV for the 111th World Day Of Migrants and Refugees 2025

“Beloved friends, I willingly give my blessing to the local clergy of the particular Churches, to missionaries and those discerning a vocation. Whereas, to migrants I say: know that you are always welcome! The seas and deserts that you have crossed, Scripture calls “places of salvation”, in which God makes himself present to save his people. I hope that you find this face of God in the missionaries that you encounter.”

Homily of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, Holy Mass, St Peter’s Square, 5 October 2025