Pope Leo XIV travels in the popemobile to the Cathedral of Saint Anne to meet with clerics in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, on Thursday. Photo by Quique Curbelo/EPA
June 11 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV made his first visit to the Spanish Canary Islands Thursday, meeting with immigrants and aid workers to share a message about helping migrants.
The pope will recognize the migrants who have died before reaching their destinations by placing flowers in the waves on the shores of Gran Canaria. He arrived on the island Thursday at 10:40 a.m. local time. It is the first visit to the island by a pope.
The pope urged all of Europe to not ignore the lives lost immigrating and asked for cooperation between countries to aid immigrants.
"Human dignity has no passport," Pope Leo said. "Today, by the sea, the message becomes clear: so many wounded lives arrive here, stripped of almost everything, but never of their dignity. Today, here, by the sea, every life that arrives asks us what remains of our humanity. Sooner or later, we shall know whether we were able to safeguard it or whether we let indifference speak for us."
