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Lampedusa: Symbols of hope mark Pope Leo XIV’s visit
As Pope Leo XIV prepares to travel to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, a series of poignant and deeply symbolic events and gestures will reflect the enduring legacy of Pope Francis’ historic visit and his urgent call to reject indifference and to recognise migrants and refugees as our brothers and sisters.
By Linda Bordoni – Lampedusa
When I told the taxi driver taking us from Lampedusa airport to the press centre that, “Yes, the sea is beautiful, and the island looks wonderful, but I would not come here on holiday because it is a place of pain,” he replied: “No! It is a place of hope. It is the beginning of a new journey in life for those who have survived the sea crossing.”
He reminded me that, in 2014, the island community was shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize for its extraordinary compassion and humanitarian efforts in rescuing and welcoming tens of thousands of migrants and refugees seeking safety and a future in Europe.
Pope Leo in the footsteps of Francis
That is why Pope Leo XIV has chosen to come here, following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who brought global attention to this tiny Italian island when he made it the destination of his first official papal trip outside Rome on 8 July 2013.
That powerful gesture transformed Lampedusa from a quiet Mediterranean outpost into an international symbol of the migrant crisis, and an appeal to the world to “Welcome, Protect, Promote and Integrate” our most vulnerable brothers and sisters on the move.
After throwing a wreath of flowers into the Mediterranean and celebrating a historic Mass in which he denounced the “globalisation of indifference” sweeping humanity, Francis blessed a cross made from the wooden remains of a sunken migrant boat. Since then, it has travelled across the globe as a symbol of the refugee odyssey.
The cemetary in Lampedusa
Legacy of hope
In continuity with that enduring legacy, on Saturday Pope Leo will preside over a series of deeply symbolic events and encounters.
The first will take place at the local cemetery, which has a section for “Muslims and Catholics, for young and old, black and white, all of them lost at sea as they searched for freedom.”
The second will be a stop at the “Gateway to Europe”, a monumental sculpture crafted from refractory ceramic and galvanised iron so that it absorbs the sun’s light and serves as a beacon of hope for those arriving by sea.
Our Vatican News correspondent Linda Bordoni reports from the “Gateway to Europe” in Lampedusa
The third will be his meeting with a migrant family at the Favarolo Pier, renamed after Pope Francis for the occasion.
Finally, he will celebrate Holy Mass at Lampedusa’s sports field. Here he will be presented with a 70-centimetre-tall lighthouse carved from the wood of migrant boats by the same Lampedusan carpenter who created the Lampedusa Cross in 2013. Pope Leo will take that lighthouse back to the Vatican at the end of his visit, where it will stand as a symbol not only of Lampedusa, but also of hope, light and life.
Lampedusa awaits Pope Leo XIV
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