"I remember the stench of death permeating the entire island as if it were yesterday, and the Favaloro pier carpeted with swollen, lifeless bodies," Maria, a flight attendant on DAT Airlines, about to land in Lampedusa, recounts Pope Francis's 2013 visit .
It occurred just months before two shipwrecks forever scarred the island's history: the 3 October tragedy , claiming 368 lives, and the 11 October "children's shipwreck," with 268 confirmed dead, including 60 minors.
Today, some victims of those tragic sinkings rest in Lampedusa's small cemetery among nameless graves and weathered wooden crosses.
It is in this outpost of grief that Pope Leo XIV made his first stop on 4 July.
While the United States marked the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence with celebrations in Washington, the first US-born Pope declined an official invitation to the White House.
Instead, he travelled to the island — a symbol of both sanctuary and the deadly violence stemming from "decisions made and decisions unmade," as he stated during his homily.
In Pope Leo's home country, such decisions have fuelled an unprecedented expansion of the detention system.
The Trump administration made detention and deportation the cornerstones of its immigration policy. By early 2026, daily migrant detentions surpassed 71,000, totalling nearly 400,000 since the administration took office. More than 200,000 children have reportedly been separated from a parent due to apprehensions or forced deportations.
In a letter to the American people, Leo emphasised that protecting human life means "welcoming, protecting, and assisting immigrants, whose hopes, sacrifices, and contributions have been part of the fabric of this country since its origins."
Yet, as the Pontiff declared in Lampedusa: "Actions speak louder than words." Thus, Leo chose to bring attention not only to the living but also to the dead.
"By stopping first at the local cemetery, the Pope shines a light on a reality that European pushback policies constantly try to sweep under the rug: the denial of dignity even in death," explains Tareke Brhane, an Eritrean activist.
Tareke, who survived the sea crossing to Italy in 2005, founded the “October 3rd Committee” following the 2013 tragedy.
"In the last fifty years, no major political leader has ever paid tribute to those who perished in the Mediterranean so unequivocally," Tareke adds. This resounding signal clashes with the frustration of those navigating the emergency daily, who demand concrete reforms alongside compassion.
Around thirty migrants are buried in the Lampedusa cemetery.
Most of these graves remain unidentified, bearing only serial numbers or a gender, except for little Youssef, a six-month-old who died off the island in November 2020.
Italy has yet to establish a comprehensive national DNA database dedicated to identifying migrants who die at sea, while no EU-wide system exists for that purpose. A welcome followed by uncertainty Meanwhile, the Central Mediterranean continues to confirm its grim status as the world's deadliest migration route . In the first months of 2026 alone, approximately 765 victims were recorded dead or missing.
Across the entire Mediterranean Sea, the death toll neared 1,000, marking the most lethal start to a year since 2014.
"Here you have seen not just one, but thousands of human beings fall into the hands of bandits who strip them of everything, beat them bloody, and leave them half dead. The sea has swallowed the rest. Before any intellectual consideration or ideological conviction, the encounter with those lying before us calls for proximity," the Pontiff told a crowd of thousands.
Shortly before, he had greeted migrants who had landed at Favaloro pier , recently renamed Pope Francis pier.
The pier is a "symbol of the border regime where practices violating human dignity take place, along with the systematic criminalisation of migrants," notes Giorgia Linardi, spokesperson for Sea-Watch Italy.
On this very pier, just a day before the Pope's arrival, 17 migrants disembarked after five agonising days at sea.
"They ran out of fuel and waited in the water for a long time. These departures from Libya continue to be extremely dangerous; since the beginning of 2026, there has been a 50% increase in deaths at sea compared to last year," an IOM (International Organization for Migration) worker explained.
Daud, who fled Eritrea and arrived six days ago, also departed from Libya. "I feel so happy to meet the Pope. I am a Christian, and it means a lot to be here today," he tells The New Arab. Saddam, 30, from Yemen, adds, "I am thrilled to be here, even though I am Muslim." He and Rahdi are the only Yemenis; the others hail from Algeria, Syria, and Eritrea.
Forced into terrible conditions in Libya, they share a single prayer: "We want to reach the mainland."
"We never could have imagined arriving here and meeting the Pope. It feels impossible that out of eight billion people, we were chosen," they say.
Wearing rubber slippers — everyone disembarks barefoot — the young men stand side by side, softly singing hymns as the Pope arrives.
"I thanked him for coming here and wanting to meet us," says Ahiem, a 25-year-old Syrian refugee. "He shook my hand."
Minutes later, the Red Cross urges them to back off. A minibus returns the twenty lucky individuals to the Contrada Imbriacola Hotspot — the reception centre where migrants are held in arbitrary detention while awaiting transfer.
Italy has been repeatedly found by the European Court of Human Rights to have violated migrants' rights in cases concerning detention and reception conditions.
"This centre requires a very rapid turnover. Out of respect for the people we assist, the length of stay is kept very brief," Francesca Basile, Head of the Italian Red Cross Migration Operations Unit, tells The New Arab .
This contrasts with the Strasbourg Court findings showing migrants, like J.A., detained informally for up to ten days.
"We are currently implementing the new screening regulation under the Pact on Migration and Asylum, focusing heavily on vulnerabilities," Francesca concludes.
However, this new screening regulation, effective 12 June, introduces the "fiction of non-entry" : arriving migrants are physically on the state territory, but legally not considered authorised to enter and thus to move, legitimising "confinement in a place where the person is deprived of their freedom of movement" as the regulation states.
Under this Pact, Lampedusa risks transforming from a site of first arrival, rescue, and identification to a key operational node for EU pre-entry containment and deportation.
"From 2015 onwards, migration management has undergone an evolution. By focusing entirely on a securitised, repressive approach and externalising borders, the EU has politically instrumentalised an issue that is fundamentally about human lives," Sara Prestianni, an expert at Euromed Rights, states over the phone.
"It feels truly surreal to be here. I tried crossing the Mediterranean alone three times, but never made it. If I had, I most likely would have ended up right here," shares 27-year-old Naeema Yaqub, Sudanese co-founder of Refugees in Libya.
Today, relocated to Sweden via the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), she still bears the scars of the border.
"Looking at the EU's current policies, empathy is no longer enough. We have moved far beyond the point where feelings can make a difference," she says. A call for action Civil society and NGOs, excluded from private audiences with the Pope in Lampedusa, demand direct dialogue.
"A face-to-face dialogue between the Pope, refugees, and civil society would have been far more effective to determine what we can practically do together to stop this," Naeema concludes.
Before the Pope's departure, NGOs delivered a joint letter.
"We personally handed a letter to Pope Leo asking him to take a firm stand in defence of civil solidarity in the Mediterranean and join our rallying cry: saving lives is not a crime," Sea-Watch Italy's Giorgia tells The New Arab .
What remains certain is that stepping onto Lampedusa on the Fourth of July is a remarkably clear geopolitical stance from the Pontiff.
Lampedusa becomes not just the "gateway" but also the "wall" of Europe, and the stage for a global ideological fracture between the duty to welcome and the politics of pushbacks. Lidia Ginestra Giuffrida is a Sicilian freelance journalist focusing on human rights, migration, and conflict. She has reported extensively from across war zones, including Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Ukraine. Her work has appeared in Al Jazeera and New Lines Magazine, and she is a regular contributor to Italian outlets Follow her on Instagram: @ lidia_ginestra_giuffrida