The Government has confirmed that the leader of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez, will accompany Pope Leo XIV in his meeting with migrants, workers and volunteers at the Arguineguín port pier (Gran Canaria), in an event scheduled for next Thursday, June 11, starting at 11:40 a.m.
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The event is part of the Pontiff’s first official visit to Spain (from June 6 to 12) and will focus on the migratory reality in the Canary Islands, one of the main points of arrival for people trying to reach European territory in precarious boats. The Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños; the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations and Government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, will also participate in the meeting.
Previously, at 10:50 a.m., and according to sources from the Executive, Sánchez will receive Leo XIV at the Gando air base, in Gran Canaria, in an institutional act in which he will be accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and Ángel Víctor Torres himself.
The pontiff’s visit to the Canary Islands seeks to focus on the human dimension of migration, both for those who undertake the Atlantic route from the African coasts and for those who arrive from Latin America in search of better living conditions. Leo XIV, who has on several occasions shown special sensitivity to the situation of migrants, has defended the right of States to manage their borders, but has harshly criticized the treatment many people in transit receive.
In recent years, the Canary Islands have experienced episodes of strong migratory pressure, especially between 2020 and 2024, when the arrival of people via the so-called Atlantic route – considered one of the most dangerous in the world – intensified, leading to humanitarian emergency situations. In that period, the port of Arguineguín became a symbol of that crisis, after hosting nearly 3,000 people in August 2020 in overcrowded conditions in a space with a much smaller capacity.
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At the event planned in this same enclave, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to meet with more than 2,000 migrants, as well as with health personnel, members of Maritime Rescue and Civil Protection. According to ecclesiastical sources, it is a meeting with little institutional presence at the express wish of the pontiff, who wants to give it a strictly pastoral character. The Bishop of the Canary Islands, José Mazuelos, has stressed in this regard that it is an “apostolic and not political visit.”
During the visit to the pier, the pontiff will also lay a wreath in memory of those who died on the Atlantic route and will participate in the placement of a cross made with remains of cayucos and pateras, in a gesture of remembrance for those who have lost their lives at sea.
In a recent speech after his trip to Africa last April, the Pope stressed that “migrants are human beings and as such must receive respect and dignity and not be treated worse than animals,” an idea that underpins much of the social message that will mark his agenda on this visit.
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