Pope says Europe cannot 'get used to counting the dead' in migration crisis

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday urged Europe to do more to address migration, calling for safe and legal routes for migrants and warning against growing indifference to deaths at sea.

Speaking at the port of Arguineguin on Spain's Gran Canaria island, one of Europe's main entry points for migrants crossing the Atlantic from West Africa, the pontiff said migration should prompt an "examination of conscience" by governments and the international community.

"We cannot get used to counting the dead," he said.

"Human dignity requires legal and safe migration pathways, rescue and assistance, real cooperation against traffickers, effective protection for victims, serious integration processes and policies that allow every person to live with dignity in their own homeland," he added.

Leo also called on countries of origin, transit and destination to take greater responsibility for protecting migrants and combating criminal networks that profit from desperation.

The pope warned that Europe cannot defend human dignity while becoming accustomed to migrant deaths in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, describing the seas as "graveyards without tombstones."

"Every boat that arrives brings not only migrants; it brings a question: what kind of world have we built if so many brothers and sisters must risk death in order to seek life?" he said.

Leo also praised rescue workers, volunteers and aid organizations assisting migrants arriving in the Canary Islands.

Following his speech, attendees observed a minute of silence for migrants who died attempting the crossing. Leo threw flowers into the sea and blessed a cross made from the wood of migrant boats that had reached the islands.

According to Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, more than 1,300 migrants died trying to reach Spain by sea in the first five months of 2026.

The visit to the Canary Islands fulfilled a long-held wish of Pope Francis, who had hoped to travel to the archipelago before his death.

Migration has been one of the defining themes of Leo's visit to Spain, his first trip outside Italy to a major Western European nation since becoming pope last year.