This morning, Pope Leo XIV went to Lampedusa for a journey full of emotion and symbolic meaning.
The Pope left a floral tribute and stopped to pray at the graves of migrants who died at sea in the cemetery of the nameless in Cala Pisana. The graves are marked with crosses made from the wood of shipwrecks.
Prevost then went to the Gate of Europe , a ceramic and iron monument symbolizing the entry of migrants into the Old Continent. He greeted an immigrant family and, in a highly symbolic gesture , walked through the gate , placing his hand on the right side and looking out to sea where a military ship could be seen. He then crossed it and climbed down onto the cliff alone, the wind blowing his skullcap away. Here , Leo XIV paused for a long time, alone, gazing out to sea, in what was interpreted as an invitation to see the Mediterranean as an opportunity and not just a tomb .
And again, at the Favarolo pier, which from now on will be renamed Francesco pier, he unveiled and blessed the plaque dedicated to his predecessor. He then walked toward a group of 15 migrants brought from the hotspot run by the Red Cross and shook their hands, one by one. Then he began his tour in the popemobile before the Mass.
The mass
"The beauty of the sea, of this island, and of your faces is a reflection of God's free initiative: love precedes us, surrounds us, and brings us together. I am grateful to the Lord for being able to visit you, following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who on July 8, 2013, chose to come to Lampedusa on his first journey as Successor of Peter. The Apostles, as you know, sailed the Mediterranean and experienced the hospitality of the inhabitants of its islands and coasts, a crossroads of civilizations for millennia," the Pontiff said in his homily, emphasizing that "he has not come to give many speeches," but to celebrate the Eucharist, "the supreme sign of Christ's presence among us."
"From this far corner of Europe in the Mediterranean, we can better see the epochal call that the migration phenomenon addresses to European societies. Europe possesses a unique potential, derived from its history and culture, and therefore an equal responsibility. Due to its geographical position and its institutional structure, Europe is able to address the crisis organically, integrating first aid into a long-term strategic plan to welcome, protect, promote, and integrate migrants, while at the same time working for development, so that no one is forced to emigrate," the Pope said.
"Everyone has their own sphere of action, and there, no other place, they are called to choose whether to fuel the logic of force, even if only with indifference, cynicism, lies, or hatred," Leone added, "or to preserve the logic of peace with truth, sobriety, closeness, and care. Dearest friends, those who allow themselves to be drawn into this dynamic of compassion and mercy begin to live differently, to be citizens differently, to work differently. Then the civilization of love can truly arise, the one envisioned by my saintly predecessors John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. Together with a great number of prophets and martyrs of the last century," he continued, "they understood that, to the depths of the human heart and the horrors of war, only mercy can respond with new beginnings. Now, on the shoulders of these giants, we have entered a millennium in which to give spiritual, cultural, juridical, political, and economic form to the civilization of love. May the enormity of the suffering we witness help us grasp the radical nature of this calling."
The arrival
The plane carrying the Pope landed on the island at 8:54 a.m. Leo XIV was welcomed by His Excellency Alessandro Damiano, Metropolitan Archbishop of Agrigento; Renato Schifani, President of the Sicily Region; Salvatore Caccamo, Prefect of Agrigento; Filippo Mannino, Mayor of Lampedusa; Giuseppe Pendolino, President of the Free Municipal Consortium of Agrigento; and Alfredo Mantovano, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
(Unioneonline/L)