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Pope Leo XIV Urges Protection for Migrant Minors
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV called for global responsibility to protect migrant and refugee minors during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday.
He noted that many minors face violence, torture, exploitation, and traumatic conditions, and it is not uncommon for them to lose their lives along migration routes.
In his message for the upcoming World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Leo XIV stressed that public and private institutions must prioritize the protection and dignity of every migrant child and adolescent.
The World Day of Migrants and Refugees, celebrated on September 27, aims to raise awareness about the situation of displaced persons and promote initiatives of welcome, integration, and accompaniment.
Pope Leo XIV also addressed the issue of prejudice that portrays scientific and technological progress as being opposed to the Christian faith, warning of the 'tragedy of atheistic humanism.
The pope's appeal followed a reflection on how human progress finds full truth and freedom in an encounter with God.
In his message, Pope Leo XIV highlighted that there were an estimated 35.5 million international migrant minors globally in 2020, the largest number ever recorded.
Citing UNICEF figures, Vatican News noted that more than 35,300 minors were among the over 155,000 migrants who reached Europe in 2025.
The pontiff called for legal tools that actually protect minors, policies that reunite separated families, and measures that prevent the harm of forced separation.
Pope Leo XIV's message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees focuses on the plight of migrant young people, with the theme 'Even Just One of These Children,' from the Gospel of Matthew (18:10).
What this adds
The pope's call for protection of migrant minors comes as the Church prepares to celebrate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which highlights the challenges faced by displaced persons.
What's confirmed
- “Children and teenagers are the most vulnerable,” he said at the end of his weekly general audience, recalling that the World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be celebrated on Sunday.
- Following his catechesis in St Peter’s Square, the pontiff noted that many minors endure “unspeakable suffering: violence, torture, exploitation, traumatic conditions, and it is not uncommon for them to lose their lives along migration routes”.
- In light of this reality, he called for ensuring the protection and support of young migrants.
- “I appeal to everyone’s sense of responsibility: Let us all feel a sense of involvement in the lives of these young people, who must always be protected and supported,” Pope Leo urged.
- The Church celebrates the World Day of Migrants and Refugees each year to raise awareness about the situation of displaced persons and to promote initiatives of welcome, integration, and accompaniment, with particular attention to those in the most vulnerable circumstances.
- In his message for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, titled “Even Just One of These Children,” Pope Leo XIV insisted that “public and private institutions are obliged to place the protection and dignity of every migrant child and adolescent at the centre” of their efforts.
- In his catechesis, the Pope challenged the “prejudice” that portrays scientific and technological progress as being opposed to the Christian faith and warned of the “tragedy of atheistic humanism” described by French Jesuit Cardinal Henri de Lubac.
What's still developing
- Pope Leo XIV yesterday appealed to “everyone’s sense of responsibility” to protect migrant and refugee minors, stressing that children and teenagers are the most vulnerable and often endure “unspeakable suffering”.
- Pope calls for protection of migrant minors: It is everyone’s responsibility (By Victoria Cardiel, EWTN News ) Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile.
- At the shrine famous for its healing waters, Pope Leo XIV will meet with sex-abuse victims and address an assembly of French bishops, who continue to deal with fallout from the country’s abuse crisis.
- In his remarks on Wednesday, he spoke of the same theme: Next Sunday, September 27, marks the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
- My thoughts go out to migrants and refugees, especially minors compelled to leave their homeland.
- On Wednesday, Sept. 23, before a crowd of several thousand pilgrims filling St. Peter's Square, he urged a worldwide effort to shield children who leave home as migrants or refugees.
- "I appeal to everyone's sense of responsibility," the pontiff said.
- On June 12, during the final day of his apostolic journey to Spain, Leo met groups working on migrant integration at the Plaza del Cristo in La Laguna, Tenerife, where he blessed a child, ACI Prensa reported.
- Pope Leo XIV saved the most forceful words of his weekly general audience for its final minutes.
- Four days from now, the Catholic Church holds its annual day for migrants and refugees, and the 2026 edition places children at its center.
- Only when he turned to greet Italian-speaking pilgrims did he shift to the plight of displaced minors.
- His conclusion was direct: no one should treat the fate of these young people as someone else's problem, and they deserve constant protection and support.