Pope Francis says that particularly moment, particularly touched him, that story, he wanted to make his first visit, at Lampedusa, to sort of memorize, all the many people who have died. By some estimates 25,000 people have lost their lives in the last 15 years also, making  their way from North Africa to Lampedusa. As he approached the port of the Lampedusa, he made a reef of flowers in the water and said a prayer for the people who have died. And then he gave a mass on 15,000 people wearing purple vestments which are normally reserved for him appears in the morning. And he stood as a very emotion behind an ultimate, the remnant, of some of these migrant ships that crashed on the shores of this rocky island of Sicily. 

 

I think this really does underscore that he is a pope that peoples hope in many way. He wanted to shun the pageantry, that nornally goes with papal visit. He didn’t want any politician to accompany him on this papal trip. He didn’t want even some of the cardinals from Rome to come with him. He wanted to meet the people of Lampedusa and thank them for their, for opening their hearts and their homes to these migrants and refugees that come. And he also wanted to do it in the most simple way possible which we have seen time and time again of this pope since he taken office in March earlier this year.