Pope Leo XIV visited the Canary Islands on Thursday to highlight the humanitarian challenges faced by migrants attempting to reach Europe through one of the continent’s most dangerous migration routes. The trip fulfills a long-held wish of his predecessor, Pope Francis, to visit the Spanish archipelago, which has become a major entry point for migrants crossing from West Africa.

The pontiff is spending the final days of his week-long visit to Spain in the Canary Islands, where he is meeting recently arrived migrants as well as representatives of Catholic and humanitarian organizations involved in relief, shelter, and integration efforts. The islands, located off the northwest coast of Africa, have been at the center of Europe’s migration debate due to the large number of people who attempt the perilous Atlantic crossing each year.

A key moment of the visit is Pope Leo’s stop at a port in Las Palmas that became known as the “dock of shame” during a surge in migrant arrivals in 2020. The site drew international criticism after hundreds of migrants were forced to live in overcrowded and inadequate conditions while awaiting processing. The pope is expected to commemorate the thousands of people who have lost their lives attempting to reach Europe by sea, underscoring the human cost of irregular migration.

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The visit comes as Spain continues to pursue a comparatively open approach toward immigration. The country’s Socialist-led government has defended migration on both economic and humanitarian grounds, arguing that immigrants play an important role in supporting an aging workforce and addressing labour shortages. Earlier this year, Madrid launched measures aimed at regularising the status of hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants.

Throughout his trip, Pope Leo has repeatedly called for stronger international cooperation to combat migrant smuggling networks, create safe and legal migration pathways, and invest in economic development in countries of origin. He has argued that people should be able to remain in their home countries if they choose, rather than being forced to migrate due to conflict, poverty, or instability.

The pope’s message was also a central theme of his historic address to the Spanish Parliament earlier this week, the first such speech delivered by a pontiff. In the address, he urged governments and societies to welcome and integrate migrants while respecting their inherent dignity. He described the treatment of vulnerable people as a measure of a nation’s moral character and received a lengthy standing ovation from lawmakers following his remarks.

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