Pope Leo XIV is preparing to step directly into one of Europe’s most divisive political battles migration with two high‑profile visits to the continent’s most pressured border points: Spain’s Canary Islands next week and Italy’s Lampedusa in early July.
These remote islands, perched on the edges of Europe, have long been overwhelmed by the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants crossing some of the world’s deadliest sea routes. Even as arrivals have declined this year, especially in the Canaries, the issue continues to fuel fierce political debate in both Spain and Italy two historically Catholic nations now grappling with deep ideological divides.
For many Catholics and migrants, the pope’s visits offer hope that compassion and solidarity will return to the forefront of public discourse. “Stuck in the middle are the migrants,” said the Most Rev. José Mazuelos, bishop of Canarias. “The church says, ‘Let’s give them a face, because we’re talking about people, not numbers.’”
Among those watching closely is Eslim Jallow, 27, who fled Gambia with his younger brother and arrived in the Canaries in 2023. After learning Spanish and completing training courses, he now works as a programmer in Las Palmas. “Perhaps the pope will change the way people here look at immigrants,” he said. “Immigrants should be treated with dignity and respect, not ignored.”
Though not Catholic, Jallow says Pope Leo “speaks for us, he reminds the world we are also human beings.”
Pope Francis made global advocacy for migrants a defining pillar of his papacy, famously visiting Lampedusa in 2013 and later bringing Syrian refugees back from Lesbos. Pope Leo XIV has maintained that commitment, including condemning mass deportations in his home country, the United States.
“Pope Leo is signaling how important immigration is to him by doing these two trips early in his papacy,” said Michele Pistone, a Villanova University professor who leads its new immigration center.
In the Canaries, Leo will visit the port of Arguineguín on June 11 to honor the thousands who died or disappeared attempting the Atlantic crossing. The next day, he will meet migrants at a camp on Tenerife.
The archipelago has been at the heart of a humanitarian emergency: in 2024, nearly 47,000 migrants arrived from North and West Africa, including thousands of unaccompanied minors. On the tiny island of El Hierro, arrivals were nearly triple the local population, straining resources to the limit.
As Europe continues to wrestle with migration policy, Pope Leo’s visits are expected to refocus global attention on the human stories behind the statistics and on the moral responsibility he believes the continent must uphold.
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