Pope Francis: Migrants are people, not just a social issue

He explained that Jesus taught his disciples the need for a “preferential option for the least,” who should be given “the front row in the exercise of charity.”

Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica July 8 to mark the 6th anniversary of his visit to Lampedusa, a small Italian island 90 miles off the coast of Tunisia.

Because of its location, Lampedusa has been the first port of entry for many African migrants coming to Europe, thousands of whom have tried to reach the island by boat in recent decades –including more than 20,000 who have died at sea in the attempt.

During his 2013 visit to the island, Pope Francis said these deaths occur “all too frequently” and that they “come back to me like a painful thorn in my heart.”

“I felt that I had to come here today, to pray and to offer a sign of my closeness, but also to challenge our consciences lest this tragedy be repeated,” he said July 8, 2013.

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At Monday’s Mass, Francis reflected on trust in God above all else, noting that the security offered by the world “has little worth.”

God “is our refuge and our strength, our shield and our armor, our anchor in times of trial,” he said.

“God alone opens up heaven for those who live on earth,” he said, adding that “Only God saves.”

Pope Francis noted the day’s first reading from Genesis, when Jacob lays down to rest, and in his dream sees a ladder reaching up to heaven with God’s messengers going up and down it.

The image of Jacob’s ladder recalls that in Jesus Christ the connection between heaven and earth “is guaranteed and is accessible to all,” he said.

“Yet climbing the steps of this ladder requires commitment, effort and grace. The weakest and most vulnerable must be helped,” he continued, adding that it is the role of Catholics to take “under our wings the little ones, the lame, the sick, those excluded.”

He concluded his homily by thanking those who assist migrants for their “beautiful example of humanity, gratitude and solidarity,” stating that “this is a tremendous responsibility, from which no one is exempt if we wish to fulfil the mission of salvation and liberation in which the Lord himself has called us to cooperate.”

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.