Pope Leo AP/Ciro Fusco Pope Leo As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with rallies, parties and fireworks, history's first U.S.-born pope traveled to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa to pray at a migrant cemetery and celebrate a high mass for locals and newcomers to the island. ? Follow g1's international news channel on WhatsApp A treeless strip of rock 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) long, Lampedusa is closer to Africa than mainland Italy and is the main gateway into Europe for hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing the sea by boat from Libya or Tunisia, often smuggled by people traffickers. Leão met up with some migrants at the port and then walked alone along the jagged rocks of the pier, the wind ruffling his cassock and carrying his skullcap as he looked out to sea. He then blessed a plaque dedicating the dock to Pope Francis, who visited in 2013, before celebrating mass on dry land. “This is a place where gestures speak louder than words,” said Leão. “But for gestures to be human, they need a heart.” By visiting this specific Saturday, Leão sent a strongly symbolic message to the United States and Europe about the Christian obligation to defend the dignity of every human being, especially migrants and the most vulnerable, while at the same time reminding the United States that the country was founded by immigrants. In a letter sent to Americans on the Fourth of July anniversary, Leão insisted that protecting the unborn and all human life also means “welcoming, protecting, and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices, and contributions have been part of this country’s history since its inception.” “Welcoming them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also the recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person”, wrote Leão. Celebration of 250 years of US independence turns into a 'cultural war' A small island becomes "Ground Zero" for European migration In recent years, Lampedusa has become "Ground Zero" of the debate on migration in Europe, as the continent struggles to police its borders and, at the same time, honor its legal obligations to welcoming refugees fleeing conflict, climate change and poverty. In his homily, Leão thanked the residents of Lampedusa for the “miracle of compassion” they demonstrated in welcoming migrants and urged Europe to rise to the challenge of the moment and assume its responsibility. “In fact, before any intellectual consideration or ideological conviction, the encounter with those who are before us, stripped of everything, calls us to be close to them,” said Leão, wearing vestments decorated with images of waves. Preaching from “a remote corner of Europe on the Mediterranean Sea,” Leo urged European leaders to address the phenomenon of migration comprehensively, integrating immediate aid with long-term strategies to receive, protect, support and integrate migrants, while developing their countries of origin so that no one is forced to migrate. “Here you saw not just one, but thousands of human beings falling into the hands of thieves who took everything from them, brutally beat them and left, leaving them almost dead,” he said. Others died making the journey, he said, “but we feel their presence, which challenges us as much as those who disembarked in need of attention and help.” Pope Leo AP/Ciro Fusco Statistical Overview of the Region Drop in arrivals to Italy: The Interior Ministry reported 14,464 arrivals as of Friday, compared with 30,598 in the same period last year and 26,202 in 2024. Missing in the Mediterranean: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has recorded more than 35,000 missing migrants since 2014, although the number is believed to be number of deaths is much higher due to “invisible” shipwrecks that have never been recorded. Leão has strongly emphasized the need to defend the dignity of migrants, especially amid the Trump administration's mass deportation program in Chicago, his hometown. But he also directed his message to Europe's Christian leaders. Last month, Leão visited another European migration hotspot, Spain's Canary Islands, to shame leaders who dismiss migrants with indifference, while also warning human traffickers that they will face the wrath of God for exploiting migrants' desperation. Pope Leo XIV pays respects at the cemetery and at the tomb of little Joussef, in Lampedusa, Sicily, in southern Italy, this Saturday, July 4, 2026, during a one-day pastoral visit to an island that has become a symbol of the risks faced by migrants trying to reach Europe by sea. AP/Ciro Fusco Leão honors the dignity of the dead and remembers Francisco After arriving in Lampedusa by plane, Leão honored the dead in the island's migrant cemetery, laying a wreath of yellow and white flowers on their graves, marked by simple crosses made from the chipped wood of sunken boats. The gestures send a “strong message” of solidarity, said Tareke Brhane, a migrant from Eritrea and president of the October 3 Committee, a nonprofit founded by family members of victims of a 2013 shipwreck in Lampedusa that left 368 people dead. “It’s a strong signal for our battle with Italy and Europe to register the deaths, because to this day we still don’t have a record [of the deceased],” he told the Associated Press. Leão's visit both honors the dead and “gives a message to family members, so many of them still waiting and grieving,” he said. With his visit, Leão followed in the footsteps of Francis, who made the situation of migrants and refugees a priority of his pontificate. For the Catholic Church, welcoming and accompanying people fleeing difficulties is part of the Gospel's call to “welcome the stranger”. Francis traveled to Lampedusa in July 2013, his first trip outside Rome after his election. He threw a wreath into the sea in memory of the migrants who died and denounced the “globalization of indifference” that the world shows towards migrants. Salvatore Sortino, IOM chief of mission for Italy and Malta, said that despite the decrease in arrivals, the death toll had increased proportionately: "In the sense that the decrease in the number of arrivals has not resulted in a lower number of deaths at sea. This speaks to the vulnerability that remains," he said. “So the pope’s visit here, where all this happens, I think is a very important reminder of that element.”