(OSV News) — On the final day of his apostolic visit to Spain, Pope Leo XIV issued a scathing rebuke to human traffickers and those exploiting vulnerable people, demanding they “stop,” “repent,” and make amends.
The pope made his appeal June 12 during a meeting at the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna on the Spanish island of Tenerife with organizations that help migrants integrate into society.
“From this square, I wish to address a clear message to those who take advantage of people’s desperation, to those who organize death routes, traffic in human beings, withhold documents, exploit workers, threaten women, deceive families and turn the suffering of others into a business. Stop. Repent!” the pope exclaimed.
“For every life lost, every family deceived, every body subjugated, every woman threatened, every worker exploited, you will have to appear before divine justice,” he warned.
Pope Leo to trafficking mafia: ‘Break those chains’
“Break those chains and free those you hold in bondage. Return what has been taken and make amends as much as you can. Repent while there is still time, for God’s mercy can reach even the most hardened sinner, but it enters only through the narrow gate of truth, justice and conversion,” the pope said.
Arriving in Tenerife in the morning, the pope began his day by meeting with migrants living at the “Las Raices” Center, a temporary migrant reception center near the airport overlooking the island’s mountains.
The center currently houses 685 migrants, many of whom migrated from Africa.
Welcoming Pope Leo to “Las Raices,” its director, Ernesto Mayoral, said that since its opening in 2021, the center has housed more than 54,000 migrants and has offered “a dignified, humane, and organized initial reception at an especially difficult time, immediately upon their arrival by sea.”
Among those present hoping to catch a glimpse of the pope was Aliu Ceesay, a 16-year-old migrant who arrived a month ago on the Canary Islands in search of work to support his family in Gambia.
Speaking to journalists, Ceesay, a Muslim, said he had been following the pope online and “wanted to see him.”
“He is so kind, so good. He doesn’t care if we are black or white, Muslim or Christian. He wants to help us,” he said.
Treacherous voyage in search of a better life
After a welcoming address by Bishop Eloy Alberto Santiago of Tenerife, the pope heard the testimonies of two migrants who spoke about the pain and suffering of leaving their homes to embark on a treacherous voyage on the Atlantic Ocean in search of a better life.
Speaking to the migrants and volunteers briefly in Spanish and English before delivering his address in French, the pope noted the Church’s celebration of the solemnity of the Sacred Heart, which “symbolizes God’s merciful and infinite love for every human being,” and falls on June 12 in 2026.
“As I look at your faces and listen to your stories, I also think of your hearts — wounded by so many difficulties, yet also comforted by the love you have received from other open, generous and merciful hearts,” he said. “Christ’s heart suffered and was pierced out of love, and he was also comforted by compassionate people who eased his pain.”
The pope encouraged migrants to share the “treasures of your humanity, of your dreams and of your culture, which you have brought to these islands” and to “be open to receiving what is offered to you.”
Migration, he said, “can become an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment among peoples.”
A little migrant girl steals the show
As he made his way to greet the hundreds of migrants present, a little girl in a red jacket, arms outstretched toward the pope, asked to be carried. Pope Leo obliged, holding the girl in his arms as he continued to greet people.
He was then escorted to one of many tents lined with bunk beds and greeted each resident at the migration center.
After leaving “Las Raices,” the pope was driven to the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna for his meeting with the island’s migration organizations. Riding around the square in his popemobile, he greeted the 4,000 people present.
Pope Leo was seen asking his driver to stop before walking over to a man in a wheelchair and greeting him. He then made the rest of the way to the main stage on foot, greeting others present along the way.
At the meeting, the pope heard the testimony of Father Darwin Rivas, a Venezuelan priest, who said he was “a migrant in this diocese for seven years.” The priest recounted that “the beautiful adventure of helping” migrants has been “a hard but enriching experience.”
“I am a witness to the dedication and generosity of these people, which leads me to proclaim that it is worth it to keep helping, that it is necessary to keep joining wills and hearts, and for us Christians, to discover in those who arrive the suffering flesh of Christ,” he said.
Don’t look away, migrants ask
A Senegalese migrant, Mbacke, began by thanking the pope “for not looking the other way.”
“Thank you for receiving young people like me who arrive alone, without family, and who are only looking for an opportunity to start over,” he said. “Holy Father, I ask you to keep reminding the world that behind every young migrant there is a dream, a mother who prays, and a life that deserves an opportunity.”
Khalid Allad, a migrant from Morocco, said that like many, he left his home “seeking an opportunity to build a dignified and secure future for myself and my family.”
On his first attempt, the small boat he was on had capsized, killing 20 people. He arrived in Tenerife in 2020 and said he was about to end up on the street until he received help from Fundación Don Bosco, a Salesian organization that helps young migrants.
“Today I feel that in the Canary Islands I have not only found an opportunity, but also a home where I can work, contribute, and live with dignity as part of this community,” he said.
Pope Leo also listened to the testimony of Thalia Johana Saldarriaga Diago, a migrant who hails from Colombia. She recalled living with her brother until “circumstances changed and from one day to the next we found ourselves without a roof over our heads.”
After receiving help from the Fundación Don Bosco, Saldarriaga said that her journey did not end with her independence and stability, but “continues on the path of giving back the love and support that in some way was provided to me.”
“At this moment, I am part of the Caritas volunteer team because I understand that my experience can serve as a bridge for other people in my same situation,” she told the pope.
“When accompaniment is from the heart, from faith, we not only get ahead, but we contribute and help to build community.”
Stories of pain, hope and searching
Drawing on the testimonies he heard, Pope Leo, speaking in Spanish, centered his Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna address on the experiences of those who arrive with stories “of pain, of hope and of searching” as well as those who welcome migrants on the island of Tenerife.
“In a city without walls, the heart too is called to open wide to welcome those who
bring these stories with them,” he said. “That is why we need to learn the language of closeness, which is understood more with hands than with words.”
Christian charity, he said, “flows from the love of God poured into the heart of the believer” and “in the presence of the needy, faith becomes concrete and love for Christ is transformed into deeds.”
The pope noted that integration “does not mean erasing the history of those who arrive or demanding that they leave behind everything that is part of their memory.”
Instead, he explained, it is a “reciprocal journey: those who arrive learn to inhabit a new land, and those who welcome them learn to expand their own homes without diluting their identity or closing their hearts to the encounter.”
Pope Leo stressed that “every welcoming society has responsibilities toward those who arrive,” ensuring that their dignity flourishes, and in turn, “those who arrived as strangers can rediscover bonds, rebuild trust and feel like a living part of a community.”
“This is a precious form of mercy,” he said. “We are speaking, above all, of people created in the image and likeness of God, rather than of legal categories or problems to be managed.”
Addressing Catholics directly, the pope called for integration to “not be reduced to a social undertaking” but rather to be an integral witness to Christ’s love.
“Evangelization is sharing, with respect and humility, the treasure that sustains our action and our hope,” he said. “A Church that welcomes is also a Church that proclaims, offering Christ without imposing him and which, at the same time, receives the Gospel from the hands of the poor.”
– – –
Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.
