The sea, with its multiple meanings, serves as both the focal point and the backdrop in the speech that Pope Leo XIV delivered at the Port of Arguineguín (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) on June 11, 2026. It was an intense, heartfelt speech, structured around three fundamental themes: the denunciation and condemnation of mafia networks and human traffickers; an appeal to politicians and the leaders of both the countries from which migrants depart and the host countries, urging them to make decisions that guarantee the right to migrate safely but also the right to remain in conditions of peace and development; a strong affirmation of the dignity of every migrant, of the many “wounded lives arriving from the sea, stripped of almost everything, but never, ever of their dignity.”[1]
In biblical language, the Pope states, the sea, with its threatening waves, can represent “darkness and chaos” [1]; from the sea rises the writhing serpent, the Leviathan, a symbol of evil with its destructive force, and Rahab, the primordial monstrous creature of the sea, the dragon that dwells in the sea, a symbol of pride, arrogance, and power that opposes God. (Ps 74:13–14; 89:10–11; Isa 27:1; 51:9; Job 26:12) [1]. Even today, Leo XIV continues, the sea is inhabited by monsters that, with their oppressive and destructive power, pose a danger to life: “Mafias that traffic in despair, traffickers who enslave women and children, and the indifference of many that allows the poor to be swallowed up by exploitation and oblivion.”
The migration route to the Canary Islands, known as the “Atlantic route,” is one of the most treacherous and deadly routes, according to data provided by the European Council. From Morocco, Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, aboard boats called cayucos, tens of thousands of migrants brave the ocean currents on journeys ranging from 100 to 1,600 km. In 2025, 1,500 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands. According to the Diocesan Caritas of the Canary Islands, also in 2025, “1,906 migrants lost their lives on the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands, including 437 children and adolescents and 192 women”[2]
Migration is a global reality, one that is bound to continue given the economic and political conditions in many countries around the world, and it challenges Western governments, individuals, and the Church.
The plight of migrants becomes a stumbling block and an opportunity for “examination of conscience” for the countries of origin, which are called to create concrete conditions for development in justice and peace; for transit countries, which must safeguard rights and prevent migrants from falling victim to “criminal networks”; for Europe, “which cannot proclaim human dignity while growing accustomed to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic being cemeteries without headstones”, and the international community, “called to effective and persevering cooperation”.
The Church, too, must view the welcome and integration of migrants as a privileged way to live out charity, seeing Christ in the face of every brother and sister who comes from the sea. Pope Leo, through meaningful gestures and clear words, proclaims faith in a God who lifts up the weak and the oppressed, who saves from evil, and who looks upon every person with infinite love. For this reason, the Successor of Peter bows before the dignity of every migrant and forcefully affirms: “You are not numbers, nor are you files! You are people with a family and a home you have left behind, with dreams that no one has the right to despise.” [1] From the stories of many migrants, we know that most of them are forced to leave to save their own lives and those of their loved ones.
The Pope speaks with great sensitivity and empathy about the story of Blessing, who had left her country having no other choice. For her, these are precious words that restore her dignity: “If you have been treated like an object, the Church wants to tell you today: you are a daughter, you are a sister, you are a blessing. Your life does not belong to those who have harmed you; your body does not belong to those who have taken advantage of you; your days do not belong to those who have sought to chain them to fear! Your life belongs to God and retains a dignity that no one can take away from you.”[1]
For each of us, the question posed by every brother or sister arriving by sea: have we upheld a vision of humanity filled with love, or have we turned away in indifference?
“Our sea, which is not in the heavens
and embraces the shores of the island and the world,
may your depths be blessed.
Welcome the crowded boats
with no path across the waves
(…) that return in the morning with their catch of rescued shipwrecked people.”
(Erri De Luca - Mare nostro).
[1]: Address by Pope Leo XIV at the Port of Arguineguín (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), June 11, 2026 – Apostolic Journey to Spain (June 6–12, 2026).
[2]: Interview with Caya Suárez, Secretary General of Caritas Canarias, for the Padua diocesan weekly “La difesa del popolo,” May 27, 2026.
How to cite this article
Cristina Scorrano. (2026, July 9). Dear Migrants. I kneel before your dignity. RIIDblog. http://riidblog.org/post/09-07-2026/