Lampedusa, Italy: Pope Leo XIV arrived Saturday on Italy's Lampedusa island, a major port of call for migrants risking the perilous crossing from Africa, which has long taken in both arrivals and the dead.
During the half-day trip, the first American head of the Catholic Church will visit a cemetery where unidentified migrants are buried, as well as speaking with a migrant family and celebrating mass.
Leo’s visit also comes just two weeks after the European Union’s approval of new migrant rules allowing much broader detention powers and the creation of deportation centers outside the bloc.
The Chicago-born pontiff has made the defense of migrants one of the pillars of his papacy, like his predecessor Francis, praising those who help the needy and decrying mass deportations in the United States.
The 70-year-old is expected to use the half-day trip to the Mediterranean island, a frontier between Africa and Europe, to call for safe and legal pathways for immigration.
