Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass Saturday on the island of Lampedusa, warning that migrants who have died crossing the Mediterranean are “victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made.”
In his homily at the Arena sports field July 4, the pope cited the Gospel parable of the Good Samaritan, saying residents of Lampedusa had seen “thousands of human beings fallen into the hands of robbers who have taken everything from them, beat them brutally and walked away, leaving them half-dead.”
“The sea has claimed the lives of others — those who did not manage to reach their hoped-for destination,” he said. “Yet we feel their presence, which challenges us no less than that of those who have landed in need of attention and aid.”
The pope arrived at the sports field in a Fiat Nuova Campagnola convertible, the same vehicle Pope Francis used during his July 8, 2013, visit to Lampedusa. The crowd greeted him with songs, waving arms, and yellow-and-white caps against the backdrop of the island’s sea and sky.
Before the liturgy, Lampedusa’s mayor presented the pope with a model of the island’s lighthouse. Pope Leo recalled Pope Francis’ closeness to the people of Lampedusa and said he had come not primarily to give speeches but to celebrate the Eucharist, the supreme sign of Christ’s presence.
The pope’s homily repeatedly returned to the theme of love — a love made concrete in compassion, hospitality, and the willingness to draw near to those in need.
“The Gospel resounds where peoples meet, people welcome one another, their lives intertwine and different cultures engage in dialogue,” he said. “It falls silent, however, when each person makes him or herself an island, avoiding contact and cutting off exchange.”
Citing the parable of the Good Samaritan, the pope said the encounter with those stripped of everything calls Christians “to be close to them.”
“This is the heart of the Gospel parable: we become neighbors by acting as neighbors,” he said.
Pope Leo thanked the people of Lampedusa for what he called the “miracle of compassion,” including the volunteers, organizations in Forum Lampedusa Solidale, civil authorities, the Coast Guard, local administrations, deacons, priests, religious sisters, doctors, psychologists, educators, security forces, and all those who serve migrants on the island.
“I greet the migrants who are here,” he added. “They themselves have not only received solidarity but have often shown it on their journey, as the poor helping the poorest.”
But the pope also warned against indifference, corruption, fear, prejudice, and policies that fail to respond to the scale of the crisis.
“Indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries of origin; a global economic system that generates poverty and exclusion; fear that fuels prejudice and contempt; the belief that such problems do not concern us; the criminal calculations of those who profit from the suffering of others; the slow and difficult transition from mere emergency management to the development of comprehensive and shared policies — all are present-day echoes of the haste to ‘pass by’ in the Gospel narrative,” he said.
Pope Leo also said religious belonging must never be used to exclude or discriminate.
“It is time to recognize and affirm that religious affiliation must never become a reason for discrimination, as if faith had boundaries rather than being a universal call to salvation,” he said. “There is no love of God without love of neighbor, and there is no neighbor if I do not draw near.”
From Lampedusa, which lies between Sicily and North Africa and has become a symbol of the migration crisis in the Mediterranean, the pope turned his attention to Europe.
“From this far-flung corner of Europe on the Mediterranean Sea, one can more clearly perceive the momentous challenge that the phenomenon of migration poses to European societies,” he said.
Europe, he continued, has “a unique potential” and therefore “a corresponding responsibility” to address migration in a comprehensive way — integrating immediate relief into “a long-term strategic plan capable of receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants,” while also assisting developing countries so that “no one is forced to emigrate.”
The pope said the task belongs not only to public institutions but also to civil society and the Church.
Speaking directly to the people of Lampedusa, he also noted that tourism on the island can risk creating an “invisible wall” between vacationers and migrants who have survived shipwrecks.
“Have the courage to think differently,” he said, urging residents to help visitors become “more humane” through contact with the island’s charity and history.
“There is authentic rest when the meaning of life is rediscovered, and true well-being when the economy is just and fraternal,” the pope said. “In such an economy, care for creation and social friendship come together in a synthesis that humanity is seeking today.”
At the close of his homily, Pope Leo referred to the image of Our Lady of Safe Harbor, patroness of Lampedusa, placed near the altar.
“In God we all have a safe haven, and every Christian community is called to be a reflection of it on earth,” he said. He ended with the traditional local greeting: “O’scià!”
Before the Mass, the pope visited the cemetery of Lampedusa, where he placed flowers on the graves of migrants, pausing especially at the graves of children. The moment was marked by silence and strong wind.
He then went to the Porta d’Europa, the “Gateway to Europe” monument, where he briefly met a migrant family. A child gave him a soccer ball and read him a note.
“Dear pope, I am super excited to meet you. Ten years ago my story began here in Lampedusa. I was alone and had lost everything, especially my mother,” the child wrote.
The child said he had stopped crying only after someone gave him a ball made of paper.
“From that day, the ball has remained in my heart, and I have never stopped playing,” he wrote. “Now I hope that this ball I am giving you can reach another child and make him happy, just like me.”
The pope then moved toward the sea to pray alone. The wind swept away his white zucchetto, which fell into the water as he prayed near the sea.
Before heading to the Arena sports field, Pope Leo visited Molo Favaloro, where he blessed a plaque dedicating the dock to Pope Francis. There he greeted migrants accompanied by the Red Cross, as well as religious sisters who are among the first to welcome migrants arriving on the island.
The visit came a day after the U.S.-born Pope Leo, accepting the Liberty Medal awarded by the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia, recalled how his native land had opened its doors to waves of immigrants, allowing them and their children to help build the nation’s future.
The pope has been critical of Trump administration’s policies on immigration and the coincidence of his visit to Lampedusa with America’s 250th anniversary has been widely noted there.
This story was first published in two parts by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Sources used: ACI Stampa Mass report and official English homily text .