Pope Leo Tells Trafficking Survivors God Recognizes Their ‘Inestimable Worth’ During Canary Islands Visit
- On Thursday, June 11, 2026, Pope Leo XIV visited Arguineguín in the Canary Islands, Spain, meeting with migrants and aid organizations addressing the humanitarian crisis along the Atlantic route.
- Arguineguín, once dubbed a 'port of shame' in 2020 when more than 3,000 migrants crammed into a space meant for 500, now seeks to rebrand as a 'port of hope' amid thousands traversing the deadly Atlantic route.
- Addressing what he called 'industries of death,' the Pope reminded migrants, 'You are not just numbers or files,' while stating that refugee treatment is a 'litmus test' for democracies in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.
- Local Catholic charities currently assist over 220,000 migrants in the Canaries, including more than 2,000 minors, coordinating efforts through agreements like 'Atlantic hospitality' with African nations.
- As the European Union's new Pact on Migration and Asylum takes effect today, human-rights organizations warn the legislation—comprising 10 pieces of 2024 legislation—could facilitate large-scale deportations to migrant camps across Africa.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Salt Lake Tribune
Religion News ServicePope Leo XIV makes heartfelt appeal for migrants: ‘Human dignity has no passport’
During his pilgrimage to Spain, Pope Leo XIV urges Europeans and all of humanity to tend to migrants. “Every boat that arrives,” he said, “brings a question along with the migrants: What kind of world have we built, if so many brothers and sisters must risk death to seek life?”
Blessing, whose name means "blessing", did not put his face but his voice and hard testimony. He said that he did not leave Nigeria because he wanted but "because there was no other way out." "When the time came to cross the sea I saw how the people who came out before us died drowned."The Pope, in Arguineguín: "We cannot get used to counting dead. Human dignity does not have a passport." The visit of Pope Leo XIV has left several testimonies of…
Pope Leo tells trafficking survivors God recognizes their ‘inestimable worth’ during Canary Islands visit
Pope Leo delivered a powerful message to human trafficking survivors June 11 during the first stop of a two-day visit to Spain's Canary Islands, one of Europe's closest points of entry from the African coast.
"Human dignity has no passport, no value when crossing a border" says the Pope from the port of Arguineguin, the landing place of migrants on the Atlantic route. "Human dignity...
Leon XIV has asked migrants not to succumb to the "siren songs" of those who promise easy havens in exchange for money or freedom, qualif...
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