VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo, the first pontiff from the United States, used his Sunday address to implore the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics to actively care for and welcome immigrants, reinforcing a message of inclusion just days after he criticized the hard-line anti-immigration policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Speaking to thousands of pilgrims gathered for Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo asserted that immigrants must not be met with “the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination.”
While the Pope avoided explicitly naming any single country for its treatment of migrants, his call was universal. He urged Catholics to “open our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope.”
A New Missionary Age and the Politics of Welcome
Pope Leo framed the global Church’s current mandate as “a new missionary age,” tasked with offering “hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity” to all migrants fleeing violence or desperately searching for a safe place to live.
He suggested that the arrival of people from the Global South should be viewed as an enriching opportunity for older, established Christian communities. “In the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West, the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world’s South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the Church,” he said.
The Sunday address follows Pope Leo’s pointed remarks on September 30, when he publicly questioned whether the Trump administration’s immigration policies aligned with the Catholic Church’s pro-life teachings—comments that sparked a visible backlash from some prominent conservative Catholics.
Elected in May to succeed the late Pope Francis, Pope Leo has adopted a distinctly more reserved and measured public style than his predecessor, who was known for frequently offering surprise, off-the-cuff criticisms of the Trump administration. On Sunday, however, Pope Leo delivered his strong message using a prepared text. He was addressing a special weekend event for migrants during the Catholic Church’s ongoing holy year, which the Vatican confirmed drew more than 10,000 pilgrims from approximately 95 countries.
