Pope Leo XIV: In Every Rejected Migrant, Christ Knocks
Marking ICMC’s 75th year in Rome, he links welcome of the displaced to Dilexi te and urges work on root causes that drive children to flee.
On November 10, 2026, Pope Leo XIV released a video message in English to participants in the plenary meeting of the Council of the International Catholic Commission for Migration (ICMC), held in Rome from November 10 to 12 and marking the 75th anniversary of the commission’s establishment by Pope Pius XII.
Caritas Internationalis, the Jesuit Refugee Service, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development also took part in the gathering.
Christ at the Door of the Displaced
Drawing on *Dilexi te*, his apostolic exhortation on love for the poor, the Pope asked participants to recognize the face of Christ in every person, and especially in every migrant, refugee, displaced person, or survivor of trafficking. “In every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door,” he said.
He stated that “wars, violence, injustices, natural disasters and growing social and economic inequalities are forcing millions of people to flee their homes and their countries,” creating humanitarian and social challenges for communities in countries of origin, transit, and destination. Those circumstances, he added, are aggravated by “a marked drop in funding for international protection and assistance,” which makes it “all the more important to promote the values of understanding, dialogue and solidarity.”
Welcome, Dignity, and Displaced Children
Pope Leo XIV urged the Church to “strengthen [its] services to welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants, refugees and returnees,” defending “the recognition and respect of their God-given dignity” in collaboration with other religious organizations and civil society.
In particular, he prayed that the participants’ efforts would help “find new ways to care for displaced children,” noting that “their number continues tragically to grow.” It is therefore necessary, he said, to work with their countries of origin “to eliminate the causes that force them to flee,” while offering protection and welcome in transit and destination countries.
The message frames the Church’s longstanding mission of accompaniment of migrants in the light of the preferential love for the poor taught in *Dilexi te*, calling Catholic networks and partners to concrete service and to address the root causes that uproot families and children.