Lampedusa, Italy —
Pope Leo XIV marked July 4 by calling on Americans to welcome immigrants with “compassion and generosity” as he visited the front lines of the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.
In a letter issued shortly after arriving on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, the pope said protecting human life meant “welcoming, protecting and helping immigrants” whose “hopes, sacrifices and contributions” have become part of the history of the United States.
The first American pontiff began his visit at the Door to Europe, a work of art that is a monument to the thousands of migrants who died or went missing trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Leo took a moment to pay his respects, looking out over the blue waters of the sea, a gust of wind blowing his white thübeto (skullcap) away.
Two senior U.S. Catholic Church leaders told CNN that Pope Leo’s July 4 visit to the island, the main port of entry into Europe for hundreds of thousands of migrants, mostly from African countries, sends a message to the United States on immigration.
“In every generation, those who came in search of freedom, opportunity and a place to belong helped shape the character of the nation,” the pope wrote in a letter marking the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.
“Receiving 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 spoke in Philadelphia at the Freedom Medal ceremony to praise his country’s history of welcoming newcomers, recalling how it has “opened its doors to successive waves of immigrants, giving them and their children the opportunity to play their part in shaping the future of the nation.”
In Lampedusa, he visited a cemetery where there is a site for migrants. Among those buried there is Yusuf Ali Kanneh, a six-month-old baby who drowned in a migrant boat accident in 2020. He also met with migrants and blessed a plaque for Pope Francis, who made a dramatic visit to the island in 2013.
One of the people he met, a boy named Leo who arrived on the island 10 years ago after losing his mother, gave his namesake a letter and a ball, which he said he hopes to pass on to another migrant child.
“I am very glad to meet you! 10 years ago my story began here in Lampedusa. I was alone and lost everything, especially my mother. They say that I only stopped crying when they gave me a ball, from that day the ball remained in my heart and I never stopped playing,” the letter said.
“I really hope that this ball that I give you now can reach another child and make him as happy as me.”
The Chicago-born pope was greeted by singing and flag-waving crowds at the highlight of his visit: an open-air mass. As he greeted the crowd, he called for gestures that would make “the world of today and tomorrow… more humane.”
In his homily, the Pope called on European leaders to develop plans to “receive, protect, support and integrate migrants” while at the same time “helping developing countries so that no one is forced to emigrate.”
He added: “This is a task not only for government institutions, but also for civil society as a whole and for the Church.”