Pope Leo XIV touched down in the Canary Islands of Spain on Thursday, a significant waypoint for migrants hoping to enter Europe. This visit follows closely on the heels of his recent critique of Spain’s immigration policies delivered in a speech to the nation’s Parliament.
The Pope’s itinerary includes a meeting on Friday with 1,000 migrants, culminating his apostolic visit to Spain, which is notable for having the sixth-largest Christian population in Europe.
In a bold address to the Spanish Parliament earlier this week, Pope Leo challenged the current immigration policies of Europe. His arrival in Gran Canaria, a part of the Canary Islands, underscores his commitment to this cause, as reported by Reuters.
During his visit on Thursday, Pope Leo engaged with migrants and representatives from international agencies dedicated to assisting them. He also honored those who lost their lives attempting to reach Gran Canaria, holding a moment of silence at the Port of Arguineguin. This location gained attention in 2020 when over 1,000 migrants became stranded there amidst the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pope Leo XIV paid tribute to the migrants lost at sea with a floral offering at the Port of Arguineguin in Gran Canaria, Spain, on June 11, 2026. (REUTERS/Elena Rodriguez)
Relief organizations came to call the Port of Arguineguin the “Dock of Shame” after the migrant crisis, a theme Pope Leo seemed to pick up on while speaking at the port Thursday.
“Dear migrants, before saying anything else to you, I want to bow before your dignity,” the pope said. “You are not just numbers or files. You are people who have left behind families and homes. You have dreams that no one has the right to despise,” Pope Leo said at the dock.
“We cannot grow accustomed to counting the dead,” he added.
He also called for “legal and safe pathways” for immigration worldwide.
Pope Leo XIV on the day of a meeting with organizations working with migrants at the Port of Arguineguin, during his apostolic journey on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain June 11, 2026. (REUTERS/Borja Suarez)
Located less than 100 miles off the coast of West Africa, Gran Canaria has been the destination for thousands of Africans, many of whom have lost their lives attempting to traverse the volatile waters in small boats.
Over 3,000 people died trying to make the journey in 2025 alone, according to the non-governmental organization (NGO) Caminando Fronteras.
The Canaries have seen a massive uptick in migrant entries since 2015. In 2024 the archipelago broke records with 46,843 irregular migrants compared to under 1,000 in 2015, according to Reuters.
Speaking to media at Pope Leo’s event, a boat captain who assists charities and NGOs in ferrying migrants said he had personally helped save over 20,000 migrants in the last 18 years, Reuters reported.
“It’s a number that makes me sick and that you cannot forget,” the captain, Tito Villarmea, told Reuters. “I wish we ​didn’t have to save anyone,” he continued.
Pope Leo XIV makes a floral offering to migrants lost at sea at the dock of the Port of Arguineguin in Gran Canaria, Spain, June 11, 2026. (Simone Risoluti/Vatican Media/ÂHandout via REUTERS)
Under Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s socialist government has liberalized the country’s policies on migration, approving a plan in April to grant 500,000 undocumented migrants legal status.
Spain’s conservative lawmakers, meanwhile, fired back after Pope Leo’s Monday speech to Parliament.
During his address to lawmakers, Pope Leo called migration a “tragic drama” and said discrimination against people based on “national, ethnic, religious or linguistic origin, or because of their economic or social status” was a violation of the “universal principle of the equal dignity of all human beings.”
But Santiago Abascal, who heads Spain’s conservative Vox party, countered making a point that Vatican City has policies against illegal immigration as well.
“I like the Vatican state’s migration policy. If someone enters illegally or with violence, they are fined, imprisoned and banned from entry. I would like a similar migration policy for Spain,” Abascal told reporters Monday.
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