Pope Leo XIV to visit major migrant landing point on July 4

Pope Leo XIV will travel July 4 to the southern Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, a major migrant landing point that has become a symbol of Europe’s migration emergency as tens of thousands of migrants arrive there each year after perilous sea crossings.

The Vatican on Thursday published a calendar of the pope’s Italian pastoral visits through Aug. 22, including stops in Pompei, Naples, Acerra, Pavia, Assisi, and Rimini.

Lampedusa — a small Italian island south of Sicily — gained worldwide attention as a flashpoint of Mediterranean migration and as a place of mourning for those who died trying to reach Europe. Pope Francis chose Lampedusa as the destination of his first official visit outside Rome on July 8, 2013, when he prayed for victims lost at sea and decried indifference toward migrants.

Leo’s planned visit also comes after he has spoken publicly about the U.S. migration debate, supporting a letter by the U.S. Catholic bishops last year opposing the mass deportation policy of the Trump administration and calling for humane treatment of migrants.

The pope’s Italy visits through Aug. 22

According to the schedule released Feb. 19, Leo’s upcoming pastoral visits include:

— May 8: Pompei, marking the anniversary of his election, with Mass and a traditional act of supplication to Our Lady; later that day, Naples, meeting clergy and religious in the cathedral and addressing the public in Piazza del Plebiscito

— May 23: Acerra, meeting with faithful in the “Terra dei Fuochi” area

— June 20: Pavia, home to the shrine housing the remains of St. Augustine

— July 4: Lampedusa (morning)

— Aug. 6: Assisi (Santa Maria degli Angeli), meeting young people gathered for a centenary observance connected to St. Francis’ “Transitus,” and celebrating Mass

— Aug. 22: Rimini, meeting participants in the annual Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples and celebrating Mass with the local faithful

Local Church leaders welcomed the announced visits, with Naples Archbishop Domenico Battaglia, Pompei Archbishop Tommaso Caputo, and Acerra Bishop Antonio Di Donna describing the Campania stops as a sign of pastoral concern for a region marked by both hope and hardship — including environmental degradation tied to illegal dumping and burning in the “Terra dei Fuochi.”

Rimini Meeting Foundation President Bernhard Scholz also expressed anticipation for Leo’s Aug. 22 visit, saying the pope’s call to build places of love, peace, and reconciliation resonates with the meeting’s mission.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.