Pope Leo XIV will visit Italy’s Lampedusa island in July, a key migrant arrival point, continuing his focus on migration and the “globalisation of indifference”.
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV will visit the Italian island of Lampedusa in July.
The Vatican announced the pontiff will travel to the Mediterranean migrant landing point on July 4 as part of a summer programme of visits within Italy.
Lampedusa, located just 145 kilometres off the coast of Tunisia, is a primary arrival point for migrants crossing from North Africa on often overcrowded boats.
The US pontiff has previously thanked the island’s residents for welcoming arrivals.
He has also repeatedly criticised measures to clamp down on illegal migration, calling one administration’s treatment of immigrants “inhuman”.
In a speech last October, Leo said states had a “moral obligation” to provide refuge.
“With the abuse of vulnerable migrants, we are witnessing, not the legitimate exercise of national sovereignty, but rather grave crimes committed or tolerated by the state,” he said.
“Ever more inhuman measures are being adopted — even celebrated politically — that treat these ‘undesirables’ as if they were garbage and not human beings.”
His visit follows in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who chose Lampedusa for his first official trip in July 2013.
Francis used that visit to denounce the “globalisation of indifference”, making migrant defence a cornerstone of his papacy.
Pope Leo’s summer itinerary also includes a trip to Pompeii on May 8, the anniversary of his election.
He will meet pilgrims in Campania’s “Land of Fires”, a region blighted by mafia-dumped toxic waste, on May 23.
The visit comes as Italy’s hard-right government pursues a tough line on irregular migration.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ministers recently agreed a draft law allowing a “naval blockade” to stop migrant boats.
Nearly 2,300 migrants have landed on Italy’s shores so far this year, down from 5,600 in the same 2025 period.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration reports at least 547 lives have been lost on Mediterranean routes this year.
The Sun Malaysia