The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, today sent Pope Leo XIV an official invitation to the Canary Islands so that he can "learn first-hand about the migratory drama" on the Southern Border of Europe. The head of the Canarian Executive extended to the Pope elected yesterday the invitation made to Pope Francis during the Audience they held in January 2024 in the Vatican City and which responded to his interest in learning about the reality of the migratory phenomenon in one of the gateways to Europe and responding to the solidarity of the Canarian people.
The Canarian President took advantage of the letter to congratulate Pope Leo XIV on his appointment as head of the Catholic Church, which, he stressed, "has been a benchmark of hope, charity and defense of the most vulnerable." Similarly, he highlighted his role as an "essential guide in a world marked by inequality, pain and exclusion."
President Clavijo conveyed this Friday the invitation made to Pope Francis to visit the Canary Islands and "learn first-hand about the migratory phenomenon, a trip he showed interest in on several occasions, but which his agenda and delicate state of health prevented from materializing." The head of the Canarian Executive referred in his letter to the words of Pope Francis "who on several occasions showed his concern for the suffering of migrants, and especially for the situation in the Canary Islands."
In this regard, he recalled when His Holiness denounced the "globalization of indifference" while asking Europe "not to look the other way in the face of the human drama that is unfolding on our coasts. His call not to abandon those who risk their lives in search of dignity and security resonates strongly in our islands, where thousands of people, many of them unaccompanied minors, arrive each year via the dangerous Atlantic route."
Clavijo also refers to the deterioration "in the situation on the African continent, and in particular in the Sahel region." Specifically, he pointed to "armed conflicts, coups d'état, food insecurity, climate change and the advance of violent extremism" as triggers for the increase in migratory flows.
In this sense, he pointed out that "countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal face political and humanitarian crises that have forced millions of people to leave their homes," a situation that "generates a constant migratory flow to the north and makes the Canary Islands, as the southern border of Europe, one of the first destinations in their desperate search for refuge and dignity." Clavijo pointed out that this "deeply painful" reality "requires a coordinated, firm and humanitarian response based on the values of justice, solidarity and welcome that the Catholic Church so strongly defends."
In the letter, sent today to the Pope, the Canarian President also requested an Audience "in order to be able to directly convey the reality that our archipelago is experiencing in the face of the drama of the thousands of people who cross the Atlantic from Africa seeking a future, especially children and adolescents who cross this deadly route alone."
In October 2023, after the declaration of a social emergency due to the increase in boats and unaccompanied minors, the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, addressed Pope Francis for the first time. In the letter, he requested an Audience with His Holiness, which ended up being held just two and a half months later, in January 2024.
President Clavijo asked Pope Francis for "a call for solidarity from all of Europe" to address the migratory pressure on the Southern Border and "the support and unity of all Member States to achieve a common response to the migratory challenge." The head of the Canarian Executive asked the Pontiff in writing for his support to achieve responses that would prevent "the entire migratory burden from falling on the external borders of the European Union but on the EU as a whole.
He also thanked him for "the support and strong commitment" shown to the Canarian people, as well as "the message of peace, strength and unity" that he sent to the world with his words after the Audience on January 15, 2024, and which he reiterated on more than one occasion when announcing his desire to visit the archipelago.
In September of last year, the President of the Canary Islands once again addressed His Holiness to reiterate his gratitude for announcing "his intention to visit our land and experience with us the dimension of the humanitarian drama that the Southern border of Europe is going through." President Clavijo responded in this way "to the message of hope and humanity" from Pope Francis "towards a people that is experiencing the worst migratory crisis since the first boat arrived from the brother African continent 30 years ago," focusing on the more than 5,800 children and young people welcomed in the islands "in order to offer them a dignified response." The Pontiff's illness made it impossible for him to travel to the archipelago, which the President of the Canary Islands hopes Pope Leo XIV will resume.