Pope Francis, the first Latin American and first Jesuit to ascend to the papacy, died on Monday, April 21, at the age of 88. The pope had been hospitalized for weeks after contracting double pneumonia and various infections, and was released last month. Just this past weekend, on Easter Sunday, the pope made a rare public appearance to bless the crowd of worshipers outside St. Peter’s Basilica. “Dear brothers and sisters, happy Easter,” he said.
In a statement following his death, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber, said that Pope Francis “taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized.” In particular, Pope Francis was a stalwart defender of the rights, dignity, and humanity of immigrants and refugees, an issue that “would be a defining issue of his pontificate,” as Catholic Standard reports:
Over the course of his 12-year pontificate, which ended with his death April 21, Pope Francis never relented in his appeals to world leaders and ordinary citizens to treat migrants humanely. He frequently condemned policies of mass deportation, called for more welcoming asylum laws and highlighted the dignity of those crossing borders in search of a better life.
The son of Italian immigrants in Argentina, Pope Francis sometimes invoked his own family history when speaking about migration. In his 2015 address to the U.S. Congress – the first by any pope – he urged lawmakers to embrace migrants rather than fear them.
“I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants,” he said, calling for a response to migration that “is always humane, just and fraternal.”
Pope Francis’ first trip outside of Vatican City following his election to the papacy in March 2013 was to visit the small Italian island of Lampedusa, where he threw a wreath into the Mediterranean Sea to commemorate the thousands of migrants and refugees who had tragically drowned – and continue to drown – in its waters while seeking out new lives for themselves and their families. In a speech during that visit, Pope Francis lambasted “the globalization of indifference” to the suffering of our fellow human beings.
“Has any one of us grieved for the death of these brothers and sisters?” he asked. “Has any one of us wept for these persons who were on the boat? For the young mothers carrying their babies? For these men who were looking for a means of supporting their families? We are a society which has forgotten how to weep, how to experience compassion – ‘suffering with’ others: the globalization of indifference has taken from us the ability to weep.”
Migration “played a central role” in nearly all of his dozens of international trips, Catholic Standard noted, including his celebrated visits to North America in 2015 and 2016. In the very first set of remarks during his first visit to the United States in September 2015, Pope Francis called himself “the son of immigrants” and said that he was “happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families.” During this visit, Sophie Cruz, then five-years-old, eagerly broke through a security barricade as the pope’s motorcade passed through downtown Washington, D.C. But rather than turn Sophie away, Pope Francis motioned to his security detail to “let her come,” and the two embraced. Sophie, the daughter of undocumented immigrants, then handed Pope Francis a letter asking him to fight for the nation’s undocumented immigrants.
“Every day I am scared that one day they will take them away from me,” a portion of the letter stated. “I believe I have the right to live with my parents. I have the right to be happy.”
In New York, the chair that Pope Francis used during his address at Madison Square Garden was built by the hands of immigrants. The New York Times called Fausto Hernandez, Hector Rojas and Francisco SantaMaria “the most famous immigrant day laborers in the country right now,” with their names printed in a flood of local and Spanish-language media. But, perhaps, it didn’t compare to one place where their names have been etched. “Hidden on the underside of that elegant arch, above and behind where the papal head will be, are written the names Fausto, Hector and Francisco,” as The Times reported.
Speaking on the steps of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall as his historic visit came to a close, Francis urged America’s immigrants and Latinos to “not be discouraged” by challenges and to “never be ashamed” of who they are.
“Do not be discouraged by whatever hardships you face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to this nation,” he said. “Please, you should never be ashamed of your traditions. Do not forget the lessons you learned from your elders, which are something you can bring to enrich the life of this American land.”
Pope Francis returned to North America the following year, ending a six-day tour of Mexico in a simple but powerful act of compassion: laying a bouquet of flowers at the feet of a large cross symbolizing the thousands of migrants who have died attempting to cross the U.S./Mexico border. In front of the cross were several pairs of shoes once belonging to migrants who had perished from exposure in the harsh borderlands. The pope then celebrated mass along the border in Ciudad Juárez as countless on the American side watched on.
“No more death! No more exploitation! There is still time to change,” he said. “There is still a way out and a chance, time to implore the mercy of God.”
“When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, the number of international migrants worldwide stood at 231 million,” Catholic Standard continued. “By 2024 that figure had risen to nearly 281 million. As conflicts, economic instability and climate change fueled displacement across continents, Pope Francis persistently framed migration as a fundamental moral issue that had serious policy implications.”
Pope Francis continued speaking out against anti-immigrant policies through the final months of his life, saying that mass deportation policy violates the “dignity of many men and women, and of entire families” and that it “begins badly and will end badly.” In his letter, he compared the forced migration of families to that of the Holy Family’s Biblical flee to Egypt.
“The family of Nazareth in exile, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, emigrants in Egypt and refugees there to escape the wrath of an ungodly king, are the model, the example and the consolation of emigrants and pilgrims of every age and country, of all refugees of every condition who, beset by persecution or necessity, are forced to leave their homeland, beloved family and dear friends for foreign lands,” he wrote in a Feb. 2025 letter. Pope Francis made the comparison in previous years, stating in 2014 that Jesus “was a refugee.”
Immigrant and refugee advocacy organizations have joined in mourning the passing of Pope Francis, who, in one of his most celebrated statements, urged that “We pray for a heart which will embrace immigrants. God will judge us upon how we have treated the most needy.”
“The son of immigrants, he championed the dignity of refugees and migrants with moral clarity and global urgency. His voice may be gone, but his call to welcome the stranger and protect the vulnerable will echo on,” wrote Global Refuge President Krish O’Mara Vignarajah. “Our hearts are heavy with the loss of Pope Francis, our Holy Father who has been a true advocate for immigrants and refugees. His leadership and love for the marginalized have inspired us and countless others to further the Gospel by living out our calling to serve ‘the least of these’ with compassion and unwavering dedication,” said CLINIC Executive Director Anna Gallagher. “As we grieve this tremendous loss, we also recommit ourselves to the vision he so powerfully championed,” said Estrella del Paso. “In honoring his legacy, we will continue to advocate, serve, and uplift immigrant communities with the same tenderness and courage that Pope Francis embodied.”
“Pope Francis’ leadership and example were a bright light and a source of comfort for immigrants and refugees worldwide,” said America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas. “His passing leaves a deep void, yet this is a moment to follow his lead and recommit to the cause of justice and dignity for immigrants and refugees.”
